Resident Evil: The Monster Within
by GeminiWolf89
Summary: Alice and Claire return to a bunker in Washington and reunite with some survivors. Is the virus really cured, is Alice truly human again? Will she and Claire have the chance to rekindle their romance?
1. The Bunker

Two months had passed since Alice unleashed the airborne cure for the T-Virus, instantly killing a large number of the undead and seemingly freeing herself from infection. Claire Redfield, who'd stubbornly insisted on helping the older woman take down the few remaining Umbrella members hiding within the Hive, was once again her traveling companion. On their way back to Washington, to the underground bunker where some survivors were waiting, the two killed off any undead they ran across. As the car pulled onto the elevator that had been built into the ground, and started to lower, Alice looked over at Claire and smiled at seeing her companion sound asleep.

"Hey, red, wake up."

Grunting when the brunette reached over and gently shook her shoulder, the younger woman opened her eyes and blinked a few times. Seeing the vehicle descending with a large elevator caused her to sit upright, eyes searching the area.

"Relax, this is the bunker I was telling you about."

Casting her still-sleepy gaze towards Alice, Claire nodded and stretched her arms, letting out a soft sigh as her back popped from the position she'd been sleeping in.

"Finally here huh?"

"Well, we did travel quite a ways, yknow. Woulda been quicker with a plane or helicopter."

"Yeah, I don't think being in the sky with those…whatever the hell they are…still flying around would be such a good idea."

Almost as soon as the elevator stopped and the women were out of the small car, Alice felt a small pair of arms wrap around her waist, and she let out a soft 'oof' of surprise. Glancing down, she smiled when a familiar mass of blonde curls greeted her. Hearing the release of air from the other woman, Claire came around the car, hand on her gun out of instinct. Seeing the little girl clinging to the brunette for dear life caused her to lift an eyebrow, and when the girl looked up and spoke, along with using sign language, it went even higher.

"Mommy, you're back!"

Catching the interested gaze from her companion, she chuckled and knelt down, signing back as she spoke, just in case the girl couldn't quite read her lips fully.

"Told you I would be, didn't I? I always keep my promises."

"Who's that?"

"This is Claire. She's a good friend of mine, and is going to be staying here with the rest of us."

Grinning over at the new addition to their little group, the girl released Alice's waist and walked over to Claire.

"Hi Claire, I'm Becky."

Crossing her arms and giving the redhead a smug little smile, the older woman put a hand on Becky's shoulder to get her attention. Turning around, the little girl looked up at her curiously.

"Why don't you go let everyone know we're here?"

Nodding, the little girl turned and ran off deeper into the bunker to let everyone know that her mother had, as promised, returned safely. Again turning curious eyes and a raised eyebrow to Alice, the younger of the two crossed her arms back and waited.

"Mommy? Really, Alice?"

"What? It's a long story…and I didn't figure you'd want to stand around out here all night. Come on, I'll show you where you can stay."

Following the ex-umbrella operative, Claire found herself greeted by those from the settlement that had survived and ended up finding their way to Washington. It wasn't long before the two found themselves inside one of the few vacant rooms left in the small bunker, and the brunette informed Claire it was hers. Sitting down, the younger woman let out a sigh at the feel of a real bed underneath her, and looked over when Alice moved to sit in the desk chair nearby.

"So…you had a kid?"

"Not exactly, no. In Russia, Umbrella was using clones of me in virus outbreak simulations…one of my clones had a daughter. Becky is a clone too, but of course she doesn't know that. Everything that happened was real to her, and when I found her…well I couldn't just leave her there."

"So you took on the role of her mom…because she already thought you were…."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Who was her dad?"

"A clone of Carlos, actually."

Looking over at a knock on the door, chuckling when the person didn't bother to wait before pushing it open, Alice prepared to be tackled again. Instead, when the blonde teenager caught sight of who was sitting on the bed, she assaulted her instead of the brunette. Claire found herself practically tackled backwards onto the bed, and chuckled, wrapping her arms around the giddy blonde.

"Hey, K-Mart."

"Claire!! Thank god Alice found you!"

Finally releasing the other woman, the now nineteen year old sat next to her on the bed, and Alice stood to excuse herself so the two could catch up.

"Hey, Alice…"

Turning around, the taller woman found herself caught in a hug by the redhead, which she awkwardly returned with one arm around her shoulders.

"Thanks, for saving me. Again."

"Any time, red, any time. You two catch up, okay? I have a few things to take care of."

"Alright. Hey…find me later, okay? We need to catch up too."

After a nod, smile and a promise of talking to the redhead at a later time, Alice turned and headed off down the hallway to find Becky. The girl was with a group of children that had been discovered hiding at a school, and had been brought to the bunker for safety. Walking over, the tall brunette sat down in a chair behind the small group, watching with a smile as they colored or played with what toys that had been brought back for them from the last supply run. Furrowing her brow a bit when she noticed Becky toying with her hearing aides, Alice stood and sat next to her, getting her attention with a gentle nudge to the shoulder. When the girl looked over, the woman smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Batteries running low?"

"Uh huh. The charger doesn't work any more."

"I'll look at it while you're with your friends, and maybe I can fix it. If not we'll figure something out."

Smiling, Becky nodded and returned to her coloring. Kissing the girl on top of the head, Alice got up and went into the decently large room the two shared, and picked up the charger base for the hearing aides. Seating herself at the desk in the room, she carefully disassembled the device and poked around inside. A few wires had come loose from the soldering, and the woman hoped that was the only issue. Grunting as she realized she had absolutely NO idea how to use a soldering iron, Alice placed the pieces into a bag and set out to the garage to find someone to help her. Grinning when she walked in, she saw Claire falling back into leader mode, and mechanic mode, quite easily. Approaching the younger woman, Alice bumped their shoulders together.

"Hey, red."

"What's up?"

"You know how to use a soldering thing right?"

"Course I do, why?"

"I think some wires in the charger for Becky's hearing aides are loose. Can you fix it?"

Taking the offered bag, Claire carefully removed the components and laid them out on the table in front of her. It wasn't long before she turned her eyes back to the other woman and nodded, stating that she could indeed get the wires back into place.

"It'll take a few hours, but I can get it done."

"Thanks, Claire, I owe ya."

"Not really, but if you insist, can we talk after I fix this?"

"Yeah sure. Just find me, I'll be around somewhere."

Grinning, the Brunette turned and walked away, intending on returning to the room where all the kids were spending their afternoon. Getting sidetracked, however, when she heard noise coming from the training room, is what happened instead. Pulling her gun from it's place on her thigh, she approached the door when loud groans could be heard from the other side. Placing herself next to the door, Alice slowly pushed it open and peered inside. What greeted her made the woman roll her eyes, and move to stand in the doorway and clear her throat. The two very naked people wrapped up in each other on the floor froze, both looking over with a look similar to a deer in the headlights when they realized Alice was standing there.

"Uhm…hey, Alice. We were just…"

"I can tell what you're doing, Valentine. I don't give a shit who you're fucking, but for the love of all that's decent, do it in YOUR ROOM! There are KIDS around here yknow, and I for one, don't want to have to explain to them what you're doing if you get caught!"

Clearing her throat and flushing blood red, the woman immediately got off of the person under her, and Alice's eyes nearly bugged out of her skull at seeing none other than Chris Redfield stark naked on the floor.

"Ah damn it, REALLY didn't wanna see your old ass naked, Redfield!"

The man scrambled to his feet, and both of them were dressed and thoroughly embarrassed in no time at being caught by their friend. Shaking her head, the tall woman holstered her gun again and turned away, muttering about bleaching her eyes as she turned to walk off.

"Oh, you know I'm hot, Abernathy!"

"Sorry, not into blondes." She said with a haughty smirk.

"Oh, I know. You prefer feisty redheads."

Now it was Alice's turn to blush scarlet red and walk off down the corridor, muttering obscenities and insults about her friend. Looking over at his lover, Chris lifted an eyebrow at her, to which Jill simply smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him off down the hall.

"Feisty redheads? Surely you don't mean…"

"Come on, Chris. Alice has it bad for your sister and you know it as well as I do."

"I don't think Claire is into women though…"

"You never know."

Grunting as he was pulled along into Jill's bedroom, he let the topic drop as they picked up where they'd left off in the training room. Wandering for a while, Alice found herself outside on a small stone balcony that they'd carved into the side of the cliff where the bunker exited. Flicking open her zippo, the woman lit a cigarette and took a deep inhale before releasing it with a sigh. She let her mind wander back to what Jill had said, and with a groan, dropped her forehead against her forearms.

"God damn it."

"I think we've already been damned enough, don't you?"

Jumping a bit at the sudden voice beside her, Alice turned her head, catching green eyes with her own blue ones.

"Jesus red, don't sneak up on me like that."

"I didn't think anyone could sneak up on you."

"I'm human, remember? Well…mostly anyways."

Chuckling, Claire handed the older woman the fixed charger base with a confident smirk, informing her it had been an easier fix than she'd thought. Tucking it into her pocket, the brunette turned to look out at what landscape they could see from their vantage point.

"You said you wanted to talk, right? Now's as good a time as any in my opinion."

"I guess you're right. I need to ask you about something I…remembered. Well, I think it's a memory anyways. Could be something my brain fabricated for me, but I'm not sure."

Pulling out another cigarette, the woman offered the redhead one and it was immediately accepted with a thankful smile. Once they were lit, and the lighter was tucked away again, Claire paused before turning to face her companion.

"Were we…more than friends, before all this shit? I mean in Nevada, that is…before we left you to deal with Umbrella."

Nearly choking on the smoke she'd just pulled into her throat, Alice coughed lightly before using her exhale as an excuse not to answer immediately.

"Why do you ask that, red?"

"I just…I remembered the night before we got to the chopper…I…we were talking by the fire, and I kissed you…"

Clearing her throat and taking the last drag from her cigarette, the older woman tossed the butt from the cliff and turned around to lean against the railing, closing her eyes and blowing out the smoke. A gentle hand on her arm caught her attention, and when she opened her eyes again, Claire had moved to stand in front of her, so close that Alice could swear she could smell the woman's sweat.

"Yeah, you did…"

"And you didn't respond."

"I…was honestly too shocked to do anything, if we're being honest. I thought that the stress of everything, the weight of what was going to happen, had finally gotten to you. I thought you just needed something, or someone, to take comfort in, and I was happy to be that for you, even if that's all it was."

"And what if it wasn't? What if I kissed you right now? Would you push me away, or would you kiss me back?"

Swallowing a lump in her throat, Alice opened her mouth, only to close it when the words she wanted to say refused to come out. Seeing the older woman struggling with her voice, Claire smiled gently.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that…it's a loaded question, I know."

Grabbing the redhead by the wrist when she turned to walk away, Alice pulled her closer and brushed some hair out of her face with a smile.

"You really gotta stop catching me off guard…"

"Apparently it's something I'm good at."

"Very good at, in fact."

Grinning, the taller woman leaned forward, intending on indeed resting her lips on the ones in front of her, but a shrill scream tore through the air. The two women locked eyes, and Alice drew her guns, handing one to Claire as they rushed back inside. Lifting the gun as they entered the main corridor, Alice let loose two bullets, each striking the undead in the back of the head, sending him to the floor in a crumpled, rotting heap.

"Fuck! I thought they were all dead!"

Blue eyes scanning the room, Alice moved over and knelt next to the group of kids huddled against the wall. Once she was sure no one was hurt, she turned around when a groan sounded from the undead, who was slowly rising to its feet again.

"You gotta be kidding me!"

Stalking forward, the brunette grabbed the decomposing body by the neck and forced it outside, where she easily sent it tumbling over the railing of the makeshift balcony. She moved back inside and a team immediately swept the bunker, finding no more surprises anywhere. Once her gun was holstered safely, she was wrapped in a hug from Becky, the little girl clenching her eyes shut. Kneeling down, Alice met her eyes.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm okay."

Letting out a sigh of relief that no one had been injured when the unwelcome guest had appeared, she kissed the top of the girl's head and smiled. Once Becky was calmed down, she went back over to her friends and sat, while Alice motioned Claire to follow her. The two leaned on the wall and watched the small group.

"We can't stay here much longer…"

"Why?"

"We're running out of supplies, and we're having to go further and further to find them. I promised these people a home…and that's what we need to find. Somewhere we can settle and STAY settled…"

"Any ideas?"

Lifting a hand to her lips, the brunette chewed on a fingernail in thought before letting out a sigh and shaking her head.

"No."

"Maybe Alaska would be our best bet…I didn't see any undead there, and now with the antivirus spreading through the air…"

"Maybe we can turn it into the place people thought it would be."

Nodding, Alice turned her eyes to her friend and smiled, one that Claire returned immediately, a hand coming to rest on the older woman's shoulder as she pushed off the wall and walked off down the hall towards the garage when someone asked for her help. As soon as she was out of sight, Alice blew out a breath and leaned her head back against the wall behind her. A hand on her thigh made her jump a bit, and when she looked down, a familiar hand was placing a borrowed gun back into its holster.

"Sorry, forgot to give this back before I took off."

"Uh huh. You just wanted an excuse to touch my leg, didn't you, red?"

"Do I need one?"

Blinking at the obviously flirtatious grin the younger woman shot in her direction before she walked away again, Alice swore under her breath and leaned her head against the wall again. A soft laugh caught the woman's attention and she turned her head to see none other than Jill Valentine lounging against the wall next to her.

"You two are adorable."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just what I said. You're dancing around each other like a couple of shy teenagers going to their prom. Just walk up, kiss her, and tell her how you feel for fuck's sake!"

"It's not that easy for me, Jill, and you know it."

Letting out a small puff of air, the woman turned to her friend and nodded before standing in front of her with her hands on Alice's shoulders.

"I know. I also know that Claire is super into you, though. She's dropping hints, and you're either ignoring them or are too dense to know to pick up on them."

Grunting a bit, Alice turned her head to look down the hallway that Claire had vanished down, seeing her standing just inside the garage entrance talking to K-Mart and Chris. Smiling when the redhead turned and caught her eyes for a brief moment before going off to help work on something, the older woman turned her attention back to Jill.

"I've never been good with subtlety."

"That's for damn sure, Abernathy. Now…go talk to that woman before your head explodes."

Shoving the blonde woman with her shoulder, Alice moved past her with a chuckle, heading down the hallway towards the garage before she was stopped by a tug on her hand. Turning, she looked down and met the gaze of Becky, who gave her a large smile.

"Come sit with us, mommy! Luther is going to play a movie!"

The brunette thought for a split second about telling the girl she had something to take care of, but one look into hopeful eyes had her letting out a sigh and obliging her request. As soon as the ex-umbrella operative was seated, Becky clambered into her lap and sat down, with the rest of the children slowly scooting in closer to the woman they viewed as a protector. A few adults joined the group as well, and it wasn't long before the movie was playing on a hand-built projector against one of the rough white walls of the bunker. A presence next to her caused Alice to peer out of the corner of her eye, and smile when Claire, Chris and K-Mart joined the small group, the redhead smiling and waving at the girl in her lap. Leaning over, she spoke in the older woman's ear, so she didn't disturb those actually watching the Disney movie playing.

"She's adorable."

Barely suppressing a shiver at the close proximity of the other woman, Alice managed a small nod before smiling down at Becky, who was slowly but surely falling asleep in her lap.

"And exhausted." She said with a light chuckle.

Leaning back against the wall behind her, the brunette turned her eyes back to the movie, and it wasn't long until she felt a hand rest on her knee. Not even looking over, she placed a hand over the one belonging to the redhead, and smiled a bit. Neither of them moved during the movie, save for Claire scooting a little closer and letting her head rest on the older woman's shoulder, with the pretense of being tired. Alice grinned at the younger woman defending her actions, and leaned a little further back against the wall, giving the redhead more room if she wanted to scoot closer. As soon as she went to do so, the movie ended and everyone began to get up and disperse, and Claire withdrew her hand from Alice's leg and stretched. Standing, the brunette lifted a sleeping Becky easily into her arms and carried her down the hall to their room where she gently removed the girl's hearing aides and placed them on the charger before tucking her into bed. A sleepy goodnight, and half formed sign was all the girl said before curling up and falling back asleep, receiving a kiss on the forehead from the tall woman.

"Yknow something, Alice?"

"What's that?"

"You make a great mom."

Snorting, the brunette turned around and let her eyes travel over Claire's form standing in the doorway. The woman had her arms crossed over her chest, one shoulder leaned against the door frame, with a small smile curling her lips. Walking over, Alice motioned with her head for the other woman to follow her, which she did after the brunette closed the door to the bedroom and headed back out into the main area. The two women claimed a small couch for themselves off to one side of the room, simply watching people mill around.

"We need to talk to these people in the morning about the possibility of moving on, trying to settle somewhere more...habitable."

"Looks like you've fallen into the leader role pretty easily, huh?"

"Yeah yeah, I might have learned a few things from you in Nevada, red, so shoot me."

Leaning over, Claire bumped her shoulder against Alice's with a laugh, the pair locking eyes as the older woman reached up to tuck an errant strand of red hair behind her companion's ear. Letting her hand linger for a few moments on the side of the woman's face, both of their attention was caught by a loud voice.

"Oh for fuck's sake, Abernathy, just kiss her already!!"

Turning her head towards the loud declaration, the woman stuck her tongue out at Jill, who was standing with her arms crossed, wearing a haughty smirk.

"Shut up, Valentine! Don't make me—"

"Alice?"

Turning her eyes back to Claire, the woman lifted an eyebrow in silent question, at both her name and the look on the redhead's face.

"Just kiss me."

Blinking a few times, Alice felt Claire's hands slip up her arms to rest on her shoulders, a smug grin in place on her lips.

"I mean, unless you're too chic—mm…"

The younger woman's words morphed into a light sigh as the ex-umbrella operative finally gave in, pulled her close and pressed their lips together.


	2. Moving On

When the two women parted, a blush stained Claire's face as the people gathered in the room all gave little hoots, Jill walking over to them and punching Alice lightly in the shoulder.

"Bout damn time!"

Grunting at the playful punch, the brunette turned and caught the other woman in a headlock, ruffling her long blonde hair. Letting out a rather undignified snort, Jill struggled against the hold, an arm going around Alice's waist, trying to upset the other woman's balance. Stepping back from the pair, Claire simply chuckled and shook her head, watching as they eventually parted with grins. Chris, from his spot across the room, could only stare, a bit dumbfounded at what had transpired between his sister and the other woman. Luther stepped over as the small group dispersed again and went about heading to their rooms for some sleep.

"Damn…guess this means I gotta stop flirting with ya, huh Alice?"

"Ah, you know I wasn't into you like that, Luther. You're like a brother to me."

Grinning, the ex-basketball star slung an arm around the woman's shoulders and gave her a friendly hug, which was returned by way of a squeeze to his waist.

"You two look good together."

K-Mart, who was standing next to Chris, was simply watching the women she viewed as family with a happy smile, having known of their attraction to one another since Nevada, but not said a word for fear of Alice running off, or Claire getting mad. Coming over to the pair, the teenager wrapped them both in tight hugs, simply grinning at them, which caused a whole new blush to spread over Claire's cheeks, and another smirk to curl Alice's lips.

"Goodnight guys, see you in the morning!"

Deciding to have mercy on the still heavily blushing redhead, Alice jerked her head towards the hallway, and started to walk off. Following happily along behind her, the younger woman shook her head and laughed a bit.

"What's so funny?"

"Why do I feel like that Jill, K-Mart and Chris were betting on if you would actually kiss me or not."

"Wouldn't surprise me. Of course, I'm sure Jill won that one, because your brother looked absolutely flabbergasted."

Snorting in laughter at the look of incredulous shock that had indeed bloomed on Chris' face at seeing his younger sister lock lips with another woman, Claire nodded in agreement. The brunette walked with her until they reached the door to the room that had been designated as her place to stay. Turning, Claire put her hands on the older woman's shoulders, green eyes meeting blue as a gentle smile curled her lips.

"Guess I'll see you in the morning?"

"Course you will, red. You aren't getting rid of me now."

Chuckling a bit, Claire slipped her arms up and around Alice's neck as the other woman circled her waist with her deceptively muscular arms.

"Goodnight, Alice."

"Gnite."

Leaning forward, the older woman again pressed their lips together for a few moments before extracting herself from the redhead's arms to go to the room she shared with Becky. Inside, she leaned against the closed door and let out a sigh, a goofy smile curling her face as everything that had transpired over the last few months finally settled in on her. Pulling off her boots and weapon belts, and changing into some more comfortable clothes that had been left behind in the bunker, Alice settled down into her bed. Since ridding herself of the T-Virus, the ex-umbrella operative found herself sleeping much easier and much more sound at night, though the occasional nightmare still happened, minus the floating objects and crippling headaches when she woke up. Pulling the rough blankets up over her, Alice yawned, and rolled onto her side, promptly falling asleep. A scream roused her from her sleep a bit later on in the night, and she sat upright, grabbing a blade from the belt hung next to the bed. When the fog cleared from her vision, she was greeted by a sight that had her up and sitting on Becky's bed in two seconds. The girl was caught in the midst of what appeared to be a vivid nightmare, and Alice reached out, gently shaking her awake.

"Becky! Its okay! It's me!"

The scream also alerted Claire, who burst into the room, gun drawn and aimed inside, ready to eliminate any threat there may be. When she saw Alice rocking the now awake and sobbing girl, gently running her fingers through blonde curls, she sighed and stepped inside. Laying her gun on the bedside table, the redhead met the older woman's eyes in silent question.

"She's okay. Nightmare. It happens once or twice a week…though with everything she's been through it doesn't surprise me."

Becky, unable to speak through her slowly quieting sobs, looked up at Alice, the pair of them communicating strictly through sign language, which Claire made a mental note to learn at some point.

'Who is she, mommy?'

'This is Claire, you met her yesterday, remember? She's my….special friend.'

Nodding and leaving it at that, the girl laid her head against Alice's chest and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself, and letting the hand stroking her hair slowly lull her back to sleep. Once she was sleeping again, the brunette laid her back down and covered her with the blanket before moving to sit on her bed. Claire joined her, looking over at the girl in the bed opposite them with a sad smile.

"I know you said she was a clone…but it's still so damn sad to see a kid having nightmares because of the fucked up world we have thanks to Umbrella."

"Tell me about it. At least Wesker isn't going to come back with some crazy mutation this time. Well, I hope not, anyways. I've shot that man in the head enough."

The two shared a quiet laugh at the expense of the blonde Umbrella chairman who'd finally been dispatched, and by his own arrogance no less. Thinking back on the facility caused the small smile tugging Alice's lips to slowly vanish as she seemed to remember who, or rather what, she actually was.

"What's wrong?"

"I…just can't believe that I'm a clone…like Becky. Like all those other ones that were trapped and killed in the simulations in Russia…"

"There's no one quite like you, and you know that."

"Claire…"

A quick kiss quieted the other woman's protests, and Claire smiled at her when she pulled back to speak.

"We should sleep…we can talk in the morning, okay? Just don't forget…you're Alice. You're the woman who saved the world. You're the woman I care about, and that Becky calls mom. You might be a clone, but there is NO ONE like you."

Reaching out, Alice put a hand behind the younger woman's neck and pulled her into another quick kiss, and when they parted again, she was smiling again.

" _Thank you._ "

Returning the smile, Claire got up and picked up her gun, returning to her room for the remainder of the night. Alice laid back down, and allowed her thoughts to drift away until she fell asleep again, the rest of the night quiet and uneventful. When morning rolled around, Becky was up before the brunette, as was becoming the normal, and moved over to shake the woman awake. Giving an undignified snort when she was roused from her sleep, Alice blinked a few times before the slight blur of sleep left her vision.

"Morning mommy."

"Morning."

Sitting up, the ex-operative stretched and yawned a bit, slowly working the stiffness from her muscles. Going over to her hearing aides, the girl pulled them from the charger and fixed them in her ears. Alice got up, and put on her normal clothing again before taking Becky's hand, the two of them heading down the hall to collect Claire. The older woman knocked on the door and waited, and after a few moments the door opened to reveal a sleep-disheveled Claire Redfield.

"Well, you look lovely this morning, red."

"Oh shush, superwoman."

Grinning at the apparent nickname she'd been given, Alice told the younger woman to get herself situated and come down to the main area for food. Grunting in agreement, it was only maybe twenty minutes before Alice and Becky found that they had been joined by the redhead, who didn't look much more awake than she had before. Chuckling at seeing the normally sharp witted woman so groggy, the brunette passed her a cup of coffee.

"Small luxuries, right?"

Picking up the cup, Claire took a large drink and let out a low sigh as it warmed her body and began to chase the sleep from her brain. The three of them ate in silence, with Alice's mind swirling with what the people living within the bunker had to decide on later in the day once everyone was awake.

"You okay, Alice?"

"Yeah…just thinking."

"About?"

"Nothing that can't wait until later."

When Claire lifted an eyebrow at her, Alice sent her what she hoped was a reassuring smile before going back to the food in front of her, and her thoughts. Becky finished her food first, and once permission was granted, got up and went to find her small group of friends.

"She's such a good kid."

When the brunette didn't respond, the ex-convoy leader reached over and put a hand on top of hers, breaking her out of her stupor.

"What's going on, Alice?"

"Just trying to break everything that has to happen today down. We have to decide on somewhere to head towards…can't live underground forever. Our supplies are getting kinda low, so we have to get shit moving along."

"You really did pay attention in Nevada, huh?"

An undignified snort was Alice's response, and once the two women finished breakfast, they gathered everyone in the main room of the underground bunker.

"Alright people…we have to get moving. We all knew we couldn't live here forever, and the time has come to decide on somewhere to try and make into a permanent home. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

A few people tossed up the idea of trying to settle in a large city, with others saying that a large city was too much of a target for any of the undead that may still exist. Grunting, Alice spoke up again, agreeing that a large city was too much of a risk.

"I say we find somewhere small, but close enough to a big city that we can still make supply runs when we need to."

Smiling, Claire watched the older woman talk to everyone, listening to any and all suggestions before making a decision. The group agreed on settling in a decently large town, in California, all the way across the country. The reasoning behind the choice, was that there were plenty of big cities near by, as well as the ocean for fishing.

"Alright, we leave first thing in the morning, so be sure to get all packed up and get all your stuff situated."

Everyone dispersed to go about their duties for the day, including the redhead, as she headed off towards the garage to help make sure all the vehicles were ready for the next morning. Blowing out a breath, Alice seated herself at one of the tables, leaning back against the wall behind her. It wasn't until a little later, that she wandered off into the garage, smiling at seeing Claire bent over a car, head and hands under the hood. Walking over, she made sure her body was visible if the redhead looked over out of the corner of her eye before gently resting a hand on her lower back.

"Hey red."

"Hey. Everything okay?"

"That's what I was about to ask you. How are the vehicles?"

"Most of them are okay, but this one is about shot. It looks like someone just gave this thing hell and didn't bother to take care of it."

Grunting, Alice poked her head under the hood as well, letting Claire show her everything wrong with the hefty black truck. The brunette sighed when the younger woman informed her it would take weeks to fix the vehicle completely.

"Damn it…this was one of our biggest cars. I might have to go try to find something to replace it with."

"Alice, we have plenty of cars…do you really think we need to worry about it?"

Standing upright, Claire moved around and grabbed a few tools from the box placed next to the car before turning back and diving back in. Watching the other woman work on the car caused a smile to curl Alice's lips before she gently grabbed her hips and pulled her back a bit. Standing again, the redhead lifted an eyebrow at the interruption, one hand moving to rest on the older woman's shoulder.

"What's up?"

"We're leaving in the morning…I wouldn't waste any more time on this if it's not going to work."

"I guess you're right…"

Alice smiled a bit before the sound of one of the cars failing to start caught both of their attention, and the women moved over with Claire immediately ducking under the hood to offer her aid. Leaning over, the brunette kissed her cheek before moving off to the opposite side of the garage, approaching one of the men standing there.

"Hey, how's that special project going?"

"Both vehicles are being brought in now, actually."

"Good job. I appreciate it."

Nodding, the man walked off, leaving Alice to grin as a familiar yellow vehicle and motorcycle were brought into the garage via the lift. After checking to make sure they still ran, the older woman looked over towards where the redhead was talking with another of the group's mechanics.

"Hey red! Come over here, I have something for you!"

"Just a sec!"

Leaning on the wall and crossing her arms, Alice waited, a bit impatiently, for Claire to come over and join her. The wait wasn't long, as within a few minutes the younger woman was by her side with a curious expression on her face.

"Alice?"

"I have a surprise for you…."

Blinking and letting out a chuckle when her eyes were covered, she let herself be led by the woman behind her. Alice led her around the wall into the area with the lift, and before she uncovered her eyes, she grinned against her ear.

"Keep those eyes closed until I say so, red."

Removing her hands from the redhead's eyes, Alice slipped her arms around the woman's waist, squeezing a bit before resting her chin on her shoulder and telling her to open her eyes. Claire did as told, and when her eyes landed on the familiar form of the yellow hummer she'd driven through the Nevada desert, her jaw hung open.

"How did you…"

"It was a good car, seemed a shame to just leave it sit in the sand, right?"

The taller woman felt arms around her neck after a moment as Claire turned and pulled her into an ecstatic kiss. Grinning against the redhead's lips, she slipped her arms around the younger woman's waist again, pulling her close. The longer the two of them were pressed together, the less Claire seemed to remember about the large yellow vehicle just behind her, alongside Alice's motorcycle. The brunette let out a low sigh as she pulled away, resting her forehead against the ex-convoy leader's.

"You're welcome?"

Laughing, the younger woman grinned and put her hands on the older woman's shoulders before turning around and moving over to the hummer again, pulling the door open and seating herself on the black leather. The slick feel of the seat and steering wheel caused a grin to curl her lips, and she found herself reaching towards the ignition, turning the key and starting the car. Alice simply leaned against the wall, watching the woman she cared for with a gentle smile on her lips. Claire turned the car back off so she didn't waste the gas, and climbed back out, closing the door behind her before walking back over to the other woman.

"This is amazing! I can't believe you managed to find the hummer!"

"Like I said…was a good car. Not to mention I have…fond memories…of us…in the back…"

Blushing, the redhead smacked her on the shoulder, to which the taller brunette simply laughed and kissed her forehead. A loud scream tore through the air, and the two women immediately rushed from the garage, guns drawn, into the main living area of their bunker. Freezing in place for a split second as she saw undead making their way in through a hole in the wall, it was like a switch flipped inside the older woman. In seconds, she was firing off shots, yelling for everyone to grab what they could carry and get to the garage. Claire helped everyone get what they could, killing off some of the undead as well, before she saw Becky running down the hallway back to Alice's room.

"Becky!"

Mentally smacking herself, the redhead reminded herself that the blonde child was deaf, and took off following her. Seeing the girl go into the bedroom, Claire realized what she was getting. Grabbing the charger to her hearing aides off the dresser, Becky turned around, allowing the redhead to pick her up. Holding her gun in one hand and Alice's adopted daughter in the other arm, Claire started back down the hall, only to curse when it was blocked by a group of undead.

"Fuck!"

Gunshots rang out as the redhead emptied her Glock into the approaching zombies, before shoving it into her pants and backing up until the wall met her back. Becky balled her hands in Claire's shirt and closed her eyes, not wanting to see the grotesque creatures any more than she had to. Loud gunshots rang out behind the zombies, and one by one they dropped to the ground as Alice came to their aid.

"Come on!"

As the last zombie dropped, the redhead ran forward, and the three of them headed towards the garage. Once inside, Claire secured Becky in the back of the hummer and climbed into the driver's seat as Alice mounted the motorcycle. All the vehicles were moved onto the lift, and the button was pressed that would send them up to the surface. Becky sat up on her knees on the bench seat in the back of the hummer, looking out the barred windows at her mother sitting on the motorcycle. Turning her head, Alice managed a small smile and put her hand on the protective bars from the outside, with the little girl smiling back. It was a few minutes before the lift hit the surface, and when it did, the brunette revved her bike and took off, the hummer following behind her with the rest of their group. Once they were decently far away from the bunker, Alice motioned them to pull off into the parking area of a nearly destroyed strip of stores. Claire pulled the hummer into the parking lot and stopped next to the motorcycle, and as soon as it was unlocked, Becky was out and had her arms wrapped around Alice's waist. Still slightly unused to the girl, she wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze as Claire climbed out of the hummer.

"Everyone stay close! We need to be ready to move if the need arises!"

Looking over, and seeing Claire drop into convoy leader mode again, Alice smiled and took Becky's hand, walking over to stand next to her. Seeing the movement out of the corner of her eye, the redhead sent the older woman a smile before asking a few of the people trained with firearms to check out the stores for anything of use. Moving aside to assist them, Alice pulled her gun from its holster at her thigh and entered the clothing store ahead of her. Hearing Jill and Chris speaking to Claire behind her, the brunette grabbed as much clothing as she could, shoving it into bags and hauling it back outside where it was loaded into the military truck they had for supplies. Deciding to stay where they were for the moment to let everyone get their bearings, Alice plopped down on one of the stone parking blocks and blew out a breath.

Claire joined her a few moments later, wordlessly offering the older woman a lit cigarette, which she accepted and immediately took a long drag from. The pair sat in silence, both letting what had just happened register in their minds, watching as Jill, Chris and K-Mart helped get supplies into the large truck in the middle of the group. Sensing that the other woman didn't want to talk about what had just happened, Claire reached over and laid a comforting hand on Alice's leg, sending her a small smile. Eventually standing when they flicked away their cigarette butts, the two women moved back over to their small group to see what supplies had been found, when Alice froze. The brunette motioned Claire to keep going as she stopped, eyes scanning the area around her. A growling mass suddenly rocketed into her side, sending the pair crashing through the window of one of the storefronts, the rotten floor giving out under the combined weight of the human and the rather bulky undead now snapping at her face.

"ALICE! FUCK!"

Grabbing her gun from it's holster, the redhead ran towards the store, Jill and Chris behind her as K-Mart pushed Becky into the hummer and got in behind her, locking the doors to make sure the girl didn't bolt. Entering with guns drawn, the three of them slowly approached the hole in the floor and aimed down into it, hearing the sounds of fighting. Inside the darkened basement, Alice was trying her best to spot her assailant, but with the T-Virus no longer active in her system, she couldn't see nearly as well in the dark. Feeling the creature slam into her from behind again, she turned and took a swipe at it with her blade that she'd pulled from her waist, smirking as blood splattered against her face. Lurching forward, she moved to jam the blade into the zombie's head, only to feel a sharp pain in her lower leg. Turning and looking down, she moved said leg just in time to keep one of the creatures from fully clamping down on her flesh before spearing it in the forehead. Pulling her pistol from her thigh, Alice turned and shot the other zombie in the head before holstering again and pulling her blade from the head of the creature on the floor.

"Alice! Alice say something! Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine, but we have a problem!"

Grunting, the brunette allowed her friends to help pull her back up to the main level and assist her back to the hummer as she limped along on her injured leg. Claire shot her a questioning look to which the older woman shook her head, and mouthed 'later'. Letting the silent question drop for the moment, the three of them sat down with Alice, waiting for her to explain the 'problem'.

"These creatures don't have the T-Virus. It's a mutation of some kind, which explains why they weren't killed off when I released the anti-virus."

"Fuck..."

"They're fast and they're strong, but they still go down to a head shot."

"Well at least that hasn't changed."

"Jill, Chris, go make sure everyone is good and settled. We need to try and reinforce the vehicles as much as possible before sundown."

Nodding, the two in question did as asked, and Alice turned to Claire with a slight wince and a sigh.

"What happened Alice."

Letting out a breath, the older woman turned her leg, revealing a large tear in the leather of her tall boot, and blood seeping out from under it. The redhead's eyes widened at seeing the gash when Alice removed the boot to examine the wound, that looked like a jagged tooth mark. Moving to the hummer to grab the first aid kit in the back, she moved back over and gently pulled the injured leg into her lap to get a closer look. Alice let out a hiss as Claire cleaned the gash, the alcohol stinging the open wound.

"Is this…"

"Tooth mark, yeah. He didn't actually /bite/ me though, I yanked my leg away before he could."

"You don't think that…"

"I don't know, Claire. Promise me something, though?"

"What?"

"If I start turning into a flesh craving zombie, shoot me."

Not speaking, the redhead handed the older woman a cloth and some alcohol to clean the blood from her skin as she wrapped the gash with a bandage. Alice pulled her boot back on and the two of them moved to the hummer as the sun started to sink below the horizon. Watching to make sure all of the survivors got into their vehicles safely, Alice and Claire climbed into the large yellow vehicle to try and get some rest. Panic overtook the brunette for a moment before she spied the note Becky had left, saying she was going to stay with K-Mart and the children for the night. Blowing out a breath of relief, she settled in the back seat, relaxing on her side.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all, red. Make yourself comfy."

Climbing into the back as well, Claire wedged herself onto the back seat with the older woman, resting her head on Alice's chest as they tried to get some rest. The last thought on the brunette's mind before she succumbed to sleep, was the fear of not being herself when, and if, she woke up the next morning.


	3. Return of Power

At some point int he night, Alice woke up with a start, feeling a searing pain shooting through her, originating from the large gash in her leg. Groaning slightly, she disentangled herself from Claire and opened the door of the hummer, stumbling out as her vision blurred.

"Fuck…fuck…"

Grunting as her leg protested from her weight being placed on it, the brunette cast her eyes around their makeshift camp to see if anyone was awake. When she saw everyone still tucked into their cars, she let out a breath and stumbled off, away from the group of survivors. Feeling the cool breeze from the open door, Claire was slowly roused from her sleep, immediately noticing that her lover was gone. Sitting upright, she let out a curse as she whacked her head on the roof of the hummer before skittering out and standing upright, searching the surrounding area for the tall woman. Turning, the redhead saw her just before Alice collapsed to the ground with a strangled yell. Claire moved forward, but when she got a few hundred feet away, the other woman stopped her.

"Stay back!"

"Alice!"

"Stay AWAY from me!"

"Fuck that!"

Groaning when she felt the redhead drop to the ground beside her and draw her into her arms, Alice tried to push her away. Shaking her head, Claire simply tightened her grip and ran her fingers through shaggy brown hair.

"Claire…"

"No. I'm not leaving you alone, not when we don't know what's going to happen."

"If I…"

"You won't."

Alice's intended reply was cut off as she groaned and pushed Claire away from her, the redhead falling back onto her ass and scrambling back a bit. Wide green eyes watched as the brunette collapsed onto her side, her entire body shaking as if electricity was flowing through her. Finally coming to her senses, the more rational side of the redhead emerged, and she pulled her gun from it's holster, not aiming until she felt she had to. Clenching her eyes, the older woman felt something spreading through her body, something she'd thought long gone after the anti-virus had been released. Feeling her pupils dilate, she lifted her head and saw debris and rocks lifting into the air around her once again. Groaning at the strain it put on her mind, it wasn't long before they fell to the ground again and the woman passed out from the stress of her power returning so suddenly. Holstering her gun again, Claire ran forward and drew her into her arms, letting Alice's upper body rest lightly in her lap.

"Jesus, superwoman…don't fucking scare me like that…"

Knowing the other woman hadn't heard her, as she was currently out cold, the redhead leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, not trying to move her as she didn't know if any damage had been done. After almost an hour, the older woman stirred slightly, causing Claire to look down at her and brush some hair away from her face. The gentle brush of fingers on her skin caused Alice's eyes to flutter open, pupils back to normal size.

"Claire?"

"You're awake! Oh thank god."

Grunting, the brunette sat up and ran her hand through her hair, noticing that the sting in her leg was completely gone. Standing, Claire offered a hand down to pull her to her feet, smiling once she was up, before the younger woman pulled her into a tight hug. It only took Alice a moment to respond, slipping strong arms around her waist and hugging her close.

"I didn't mean to freak you out, red…I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. You're safe, and you're alive, that's all that matters to me."

The two women stayed like that until the brunette's mind reasserted itself and she realized what had happened. Pushing Claire back a bit, the older woman took a deep breath and closed her eyes, focusing on seeing which of her 'super powers' had returned with the reintroduction of the virus to her body. Immediately she realized that her sense of smell and sense of hearing was stronger and more sensitive again, and her telekinesis had also returned. Briefly she wondered if her strength and speed would once again increase, but a gentle hand on her arm broke her from her concentration.

"We should get back before someone wakes up and notices we're gone…people are already panicked enough."

"Yeah, you're right."

Picking up her pistol where she'd dropped it on the ground as her body had felt the effects of the virus, she tucked it back into her thigh holster and turned around to follow the redhead back to the small group of vehicles. Climbing into the hummer again, Alice blinked against the bright light that clicked on when the door was opened, and deduced that her night vision had increased in strength as well. As expected, as soon as the light died out, her eyes adjusted and she could see nearly perfectly.

"Well…I guess all this has a silver lining."

"What's that?"

"I'll be able to protect everyone better with my abilities back."

"And don't forget you have help. You don't have to do everything alone."

Smiling at the redhead in the darkness of the hummer, she laid down again on the back seat and pulled the younger woman close to her, closing her eyes once the other was settled against her.

"I know, red…"

A kiss to the side of her neck was Alice's response, and as the two of them drifted off to sleep again, the brunette sighed and let her nose rest against the top of Claire's head, inhaling her unique scent that she could once again pick up on. Smiling at that fact, the woman allowed herself to drift off to sleep again, once making sure that the doors to the large yellow vehicle were locked. Feeling the sun beating down on her face the next morning, Claire turned her head in search of solace in the side of her companion's neck, but found herself alone in the car. Sitting up, careful not to whack her head this time, the redhead stretched and peered out the window, smiling when she saw Alice looking over a map with Jill and Chris. Climbing out of the hummer, and again stretching the stiffness from her muscles, Claire walked over and joined them, bumping Alice's shoulder with her own.

"Morning."

"Hey. We're just trying to decide on where to try and go. The group wants to try and find a small town in California, which we could do, but we'll have to fortify it somehow. It's California, so the towns aren't that far from the big cities."

"Fortify it how?"

"We'd have to more than likely build walls somehow, try to make them strong enough that the undead can't get through."

Looking over, Claire took inventory of their small group, seeing K-Mart entertaining the kids while the adults sorted supplies. Turning her attention back to Alice, Jill and Chris, the redhead did her best to help them come to a decision. The three of them discussed options and ideas for nearly an hour before the tall brunette stood upright and looked in the direction of the bunker.

"We need to move."

Blinking, Claire stood as well and looked in the same direction, the faint sounds of groaning reaching the small group on the wind. Within a few minutes everything was packed up in the vehicles, and everyone was loaded up and ready to move out. Becky once again joined Claire in the hummer as Alice mounted her motorcycle and revved the engine. The convoy pulled out onto the road and floored their gas pedals, following the sleek bike away from the approaching undead. Once the brunette could no longer sense, or smell, the undead she slowed down a bit, and the rest of the vehicles did the same. The hummer pulled up beside her and Claire rolled the window down behind the protective bars.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, we're good."

Pulling over, Alice secured her motorcycle to the top of the vehicle before jumping down and climbing into the passenger side of the yellow car. Once she was in and situated, the redhead pulled onto the road again as the older woman relaxed into her seat. Peering into the back via the rear view mirror, both women smiled at seeing Becky lost in a coloring book.

"How she can do that in a moving vehicle is lost to me. I'd be all over the place."

Chuckling at the declaration from her lover, Alice peered over at her with a mischievous smile. Lifting an eyebrow at the look she caught out of the corner of her eye, the redhead gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter when she felt a hand come to rest on her thigh. The older woman simply let it stay there, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes, only opening them when her adopted daughter reached forward and tapped her on the arm. Turning to look at the little girl, she blinked at being handed a picture she'd drawn at some point during the night when she'd stayed with the other children.

"What's this?"

"We drew our families last night."

Taking the offered paper, Alice felt a smile tug at her lips when she saw that not only had Becky drawn the two of them, but Claire was on it as well. Nimbly climbing over the console, the brunette deposited herself in the seat next to the girl, the two again silently communicating via sign language.

'You drew Claire too?'

'She's my second mom, right?'

'Well, that's something you should ask her, huh?'

"Hey you two…not fair! I don't know sign language yet!"

"Guess you better get on that, huh red?"

Sticking her tongue out in the rear view mirror, the redhead grinned as both Alice and Becky laughed, the girl speaking this time out of consideration for the other woman.

"Claire?"

"Hm?"

"Are you going to be my second mom?"

Alice bit her lip to stifle more laughter at the look on the younger woman's face, before her eyes widened a bit at her reply, which she signed to the girl in case she didn't hear.

"I'd love to be your mom too, Becky."

A happy laugh escaped the blonde and she quickly attached to Alice's side in a hug, absolutely ecstatic at the response she'd gotten. The brunette met Claire's eyes in the mirror, and gave her a happy, loving smile. Slipping back up into the front of the hummer, Alice grinned as the redhead reached over and took her hand.

"You, red, are amazing."

"So are you."

Snorting, the brunette squeezed Claire's hand before again leaning back against the seat and closing her eyes. Not bothering to take her hand back, the younger woman easily drove the large vehicle with one hand, simply letting the other woman relax for as long as she could. It wasn't long before the convoy pulled off the road into a deserted parking lot for the night, the vehicles forming a tight circle, starting a fire in the middle to keep warm. Alice and Claire sat side by side, the redhead leaning her head on the older woman's shoulder, enjoying the relative peace. Jill and Chris sat across from them, in much the same position, causing Claire to grin at her brother. He rolled his eyes and looked over at Jill when she snorted in laughter at the two siblings.

"You two are insane."

The whispered words, that Alice easily heard from across the fire, caused her to snicker to herself, peering around their small fire. K-Mart was again sitting with the small group of children, looking more than happy to be entertaining them for the moment. Feeling Claire shift a bit, Alice released her hand when she stood up and stretched. The group of survivors all remained around the fire, trusting the brunette to tell them if they needed to pack up and get moving. It wasn't long before the kids were tucked into the large greyhound bus they'd managed to find, with Becky asking to stay with them. Nodding, Alice kissed her on top of the head before she ran off and climbed up into the bus. Within the hour, everyone started making their way to their vehicles to try and get some sleep, and when the brunette didn't join her in the hummer, Claire got up and slipped out. Seeing Alice still seated by the fire, she walked over and slipped her arms around her from behind.

"You okay, Alice?"

"I'm good, just trying to enjoy the peace while we have it, yknow?"

Nodding, the younger woman moved around in front of the brunette and knelt down, meeting her eyes with a smile. Alice returned the smile, and rested her hands on the redhead's waist when she scooted forward to kneel between her legs. The older woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath as Claire leaned forward, resting their foreheads together, a hand on the back of the brunette's neck. Alice's lips twitched up into a smile when she felt the other woman's brush against her own, and she pulled her closer. Letting a hand slip up into the older woman's hair, Claire grinned back and pressed their lips together more firmly, her other arm moving up around her neck. A soft groan slipped from the ex-umbrella operative, and both arms wound themselves around Claire's waist, pulling her as close as possible. Pulling away only slightly when the need for air arose, the redhead met slightly darkened blue eyes with her own green ones.

"Alice…come to bed."

"Yeah….okay."

Grinning, the redhead stood up and pulled Alice to her feet, the two of them walking towards the hummer. Once there, the brunette grabbed Claire's hips and pushed her up against the side of the yellow vehicle, getting a grunt of surprise before it morphed into a low moan as she pressed their lips together again. The younger woman immediately wrapped her arms around Alice's neck, pulling her close with a grin against her lips. The pair parted a few moments later, the redhead's voice a little breathless when she spoke.

"Enjoy the peace while we can, right?"

"Right."

"We should….probably get in the car."

A chuckle escaped the older woman and she nodded, with the redhead pulling the door open and slipping into the back. Alice followed, pulling the door closed behind her with a grin.


	4. Death of Innocence

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS THE DEATH OF A CHILD. IF THIS IS SOMETHING YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ, SKIP THE LAST HALF OF THIS CHAPTER!**

Almost as soon as the door was pulled together and locked, Alice found herself shoved up against it, Claire's lips again pressed tight against her own. Stretching her legs out across the bench seat, the brunette wrapped her arms around the younger woman's waist as the redhead settled between her legs. One of the older woman's hands slipped up to gently tangle in Claire's hair, pulling her closer as the other woman let one hand slip down a bit to rest over Alice's heart. Pulling back, the younger woman gazed into her lover's eyes, blue meeting green, and smiled. The gentle smile was immediately returned as the pair let their forehead's rest together, simply enjoying being close to each other. Eventually, however, Alice let her hands slip from resting casually on the redhead's waist, to gently gripping her backside as she adjusted her position slightly.

"You okay?"

"I'm perfect, the door handle is just digging into my back a bit."

Grinning as she was easily moved, Claire locked her fingers together behind Alice's neck, finding herself straddling the other woman as she moved to sit normally on the seat. Biting her lip a bit when she felt the brunette squeeze her butt slightly, she let her hands slip down to rest on the older woman's chest, the touch getting a light sigh from the ex-umbrella operative. The woman's hands slipped up Claire's thighs, short nails dragging over the cloth covered skin before settling on her waist again.

"Do you have any idea how bad I want you right now, red?"

"Show me…"

Growling a bit, the brunette gripped the vest the other woman was wearing and pushed it off her shoulders, Claire letting it fall behind her onto the back floorboard of the hummer. The redhead slowly unbuckled all the belts that held Alice's weapons, including the thigh holsters for her guns, and settled them on the front passenger seat, out of the way but still within reach if they were needed. The younger woman found her shirt lifted over her head a few moments later, the brunette slowly trailing her hands over the skin revealed to her. In the darkness of the hummer, the two women slowly stripped one another, each exploring every inch of skin revealed to them. In Nevada, the two hadn't had the chance to actually be naked together, as they were constantly on the run from the undead, but now, with the relative peace they'd gained, they had the chance to actually take their time.

"Fuck you're beautiful, Claire."

"So are you."

Sensing the other woman about to protest, Claire pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss, letting her hands wander as they pleased. Alice's words died on her lips as she returned the kiss, hands settling on the redhead's hips again, groaning lightly when she felt the younger woman's fingers brush over her nipples. Grinning at the response she'd gotten, Claire repeated her actions, letting her thumbs brush over the older woman again and again, with a bit more pressure each time. Closing her eyes as the redhead moved her lips to the side of her neck, Alice let out a soft groan again, feeling the other woman slowly move her kisses down her neck to her chest. The redhead smiled against her skin as she felt a hand gently tangle in her hair as her lips closed over a nipple, the other still being stimulated with gentle tugs from her fingers. Letting her free hand slip down, Claire let her fingertips barely brush against the older woman, before she found herself on her back, locked in a passionate kiss with her lover.

Alice trailed a string of kisses from the other woman's ear, to her neck, and down to her chest where she mimicked the redhead's actions, drawing a low groan from her. Feeling fingers thread into her hair caused the older woman to grin, peering up at her lover for a moment before letting a hand slip down between them. Claire's grip on Alice's hair tightened a bit when she felt the other woman's fingers brush against her, her eyes drifting shut. A soft groan escaped both women, as Alice put a bit more pressure behind her probing hand, feeling just how aroused the younger woman was.

"Alice…"

"Hm?"

"Please…I…"

Grinning at having the other woman nearly speechless, the brunette pressed a kiss to her stomach before slipping a finger into her, drawing a low, nearly breathless moan from the redhead. Tangling her fingers in Alice's hair again, Claire pulled her up into a deep kiss as the older woman started a slow, gentle pace with her hand, grinning against her lips. Not one to be outdone, Claire let a hand slip down and brush against her lover before slipping into her as well, the two falling into sync almost immediately. Their lips parted when air became a necessity, and Alice suddenly wished that they had more room in the vehicle. It wasn't long before both of them had reached their peaks, and settled together on the back seat, wrapped in each others arms.

"Jesus, Alice…"

Chuckling, the brunette looked down at her younger lover, brushing some hair off her forehead before pressing a kiss there.

"We should probably get dressed, just in case."

Nodding, Claire sat up, and after stretching, gathered her discarded clothing and re-dressed. Alice did the same, but instead of putting her weapon belts back on, she simply moved them to the back floorboard of the hummer and settled back down. The redhead slipped an arm around her waist and laid her head against the woman's shoulder, closing her eyes with a smile.

"Goodnight, red."

"Night, superwoman."

Chuckling lightly, Alice let her eyes drift closed, pressing her nose against the top of the younger woman's head with a smile. The pair were awoken in the early morning by a scream tearing through the silence, causing both of them to bolt upright and scurry out of the hummer. Alice secured her weapons and they moved over to the bus, the driver letting them on. Caught in a nightmare, was Becky, the little girl fighting invisible enemies. Holstering her pistol, Alice moved over and gently shook the girl awake, pulling her into her arms with a sigh. Knowing the blonde wouldn't release her for the rest of the night, she and Claire took her back to the hummer with them. Settling in, the brunette held her adopted daughter close, gently running her fingers through her hair as she gradually calmed. Claire scooted over next to them as the older woman laid the back seats down to give them more room, and effectively sandwiched the girl between them. Looking over her shoulder, Becky gave the redhead a smile before turning back to lay her head on her mother's chest. Alice rested her chin on top of the girl's head and smiled as well when she felt her lover slip an arm over both of them. The trio drifted off to sleep for a few more hours before they were startled out of their sleep by a loud bang on the side of their vehicle.

Sitting up, Alice peered out the window, looking for the source of the noise, hand on her gun just in case.

"What is it?"

"I don't know…you two stay here, I'll check it out."

Pushing open the door to the hummer, the brunette quickly slipped out before closing it behind her, pulling her pistols from her thighs as she circled the vehicle. Narrowing her eyes when she didn't see anything that could have caused the bang, Alice cast her eyes around the tight circle of cars, freezing when she saw something moving on top of the greyhound bus.

"Fuck…"

Moving closer, she crouched down behind a large piece of wall that was left from one of the buildings they were near, closing her eyes for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she peeked out from behind the wall and cursed to herself as she saw what appeared to be a lone zombie wandering around on top of the bus.

"How the hell did it get up there…"

A noise from her left caused her to tear her eyes away as she saw another stumbling between two of the trucks, noisily banging into both vehicles, causing the occupants to wake with a start. Inside the yellow hummer, Claire caught sight of the undead and grabbed the radio, keeping her voice as low as possible.

"Everyone keep quiet and stay in your cars…we have a few visitors."

Jumping when she heard a loud bang on the roof of their vehicle, the motorcycle secured there clattering to the ground, Claire pulled Becky close and put a finger to her lips to signal the girl to stay quiet. The blonde child nodded, watching out the windows, both occupants turning their heads to the hood of the car as a mutated licker climbed down onto it from the roof. Moving as quietly as she could through the debris around the cars, Alice holstered her guns, opting to use her blades or bare hands instead of drawing attention with gunshots. She approached the zombie that was on the ground from behind, quickly reaching out and snapping its neck before ducking behind the nearest vehicle as it fell to the ground. Pulling one of her blades from her waist, she held it by the blade and threw it, spearing the zombie on top of the bus in the forehead before turning her attention to the licker now wandering the camp. Suddenly, the creature let out a growl and jumped onto the roof of the bus, its claws digging through the metal as the sound of a can falling echoed from within.

"Shit!"

Drawing her pistol again, Alice emerged from her spot behind the truck, and fired at the licker, striking it in the shoulder. Attention drawn from the noise inside the vehicle, the creature turned and jumped forward towards its attacker, claws out, ready to tear her apart. Proving to be just a bit too quick for the bulky undead, Alice dropped to the ground on her back and planted a foot on its chest, rolling backwards and flinging it away before getting back to her feet. The sound of gunfire attracted the remainder of the undead wandering the area, and it wasn't long before the camp was full of the sounds of guns and zombies. Claire, telling Becky to stay low and stay hidden, climbed out of the hummer and fired off a shot into the head of a zombie that had been sneaking up behind her lover.

"Thanks, red!"

"No problem!"

Turning her attention back to the licker coming at her again, she didn't see the second one approaching from the side until it lashed out with its tongue, sending the brunette flying across the camp, into the wall of a building with a loud thud. Alice collapsed to the ground, vision blurred from the impact, and shook her head, slowly getting back to her feet. Once her vision cleared she was greeted by a zombie only a few feet away, moving towards her with impressive speed. Lifting her pistol, she dropped it with a shot to the middle of the forehead before holstering said pistol and pulling her shotguns from their places on her back. Walking forward towards the oncoming licker, she aimed and fired, the creature's head exploding from the close-range shot. Looking over, Alice took off like a shot, rushing the yellow hummer and pulling a zombie from where it had managed to get the door open, and was trying to get to Becky. She easily dropped the enemy with a well placed kick to the head, the thing's neck snapping instantly.

"Becky, are you okay?"

The little girl didn't answer immediately, and Alice turned to fire on another zombie that approached the vehicle. The brunette's eyes widened as she saw the second licker send Claire back into the side of the bus with a vicious strike to her stomach. Shutting the hummer door, and making sure it was locked, she rushed forward and opened fire, seeing Chris already kneeling next to his sister as Jill stood in front of them and fired on the creature as well. As she moved forward, Alice holstered her gun, and focused on the licker in front of her, pupils dilating. Suddenly the creature gave a howl of pain, and its head suddenly exploded like a grenade had gone off. Stumbling slightly from the strain it put on her, Alice shook her head, lifting a hand as a bit of blood leaked from her nose.

"Fuck, Claire!"

Moving forward and kneeling next to the redhead, Alice lifted the bottom of her shirt, relieved to see no broken skin from the licker's claws. As Jill dropped the last zombie, the brunette and Chris helped the younger woman to her feet and over to the hummer where Alice popped the hatch at the back. Sitting down, the redhead groaned at the pain the impact with the sturdy bus had caused in her back and head.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. Got one hell of a headache though."

Smirking slightly at her younger lover's response, Alice pressed a kiss to her forehead before moving around to check on Becky again as Chris sat down next to his sister. Pulling open the door once the girl unlocked it, she sat down and drew her into her arms with a sigh.

"Mommy…"

Looking down, she met the little girl's terrified eyes, and then her own landed on the bite mark that now adorned Becky's right forearm. Gently pulling the arm forward, Alice stared in slight disbelief at the bite, her heart pounding in her chest.

"No…no no…"

Hearing the distress in their friend's voice, Chris and Jill, who had just approached with a first aid kit, moved around to the open door. Seeing her staring at her adopted daughter's arm, and then seeing what was present there, caused Chris to pull his pistol, only to have Alice's shotgun in his face in a second.

"Don't you fucking dare, Redfield."

"Alice…she-"

"I know, and I'll handle it myself."

Putting his gun away, the older Redfield put his hands up in a sign of surrender and backed away as Jill moved forward and put a hand on the brunette's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Alice…"

"Get everyone ready to move, we can't stay here any longer."

Nodding, and wincing at the gruff tone of the other woman's voice, Jill did as asked, pulling Chris along with her. Claire, also hearing the distressed tone of her lover, got up and moved around, letting out a slight gasp when she saw the bite mark. Sitting down next to Alice, she reached over and put a hand on her leg. The brunette didn't respond to the touch, save for a small, sad smile in the younger woman's direction. Alice and Becky had a silent conversation, which for once, Claire was glad she couldn't interpret.

"You drive, Claire…get us as far away from here as possible once everyone is ready."

"You got it."

Within a half hour, everyone was situated and the convoy was on the road again, with Alice sitting in the back of the hummer with Becky, trying to keep her mind off of the inevitable change that would be taking place within the next few hours. The brunette simply held the girl close, combing her fingers through her hair, keeping her eyes trained out the front windshield of the hummer. Claire met her eyes in the rear view mirror for a few seconds before returning her eyes to the road, not knowing what to say to try and comfort the older woman. It was the next morning before the convoy had to risk a large city to refuel their cars, the hummer and a couple other vehicles running on fumes. Pulling into the gas station, they were lucky enough to find some gas, and some non-perishable food items, and batteries for flashlights inside the dilapidated convenience store. Claire approached her older lover as the cars were gassed up and people took a break for food and some water, gently putting an arm around her waist.

"Hey…how is she?"

"Not good."

"How long do you think-"

"A couple hours, maybe less. I…fuck I'm such a failure."

"Alice…"

"I shouldn't have let this happen, Claire. She's just a kid, and now, because of my lack of attention, she's going to die."

"Hey…this isn't your fault. It's Umbrella and their damn viruses."

Shaking her head, Alice let out a dry laugh, turning sad blue eyes towards the redhead, only to turn away again when they heard K-Mart yelling for them from across the parking lot. The brunette saw the blonde teen kneeling next to Becky, who was on the ground, convulsing slightly.

"Oh no…"

Grunting, the older woman moved over and picked her up, not seeming to notice when the girl coughed up blood on her shirt.

"I'm taking her somewhere else. I…don't want any of the other kids to see this. K-Mart, keep their attention, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll try."

Turning, Alice carried the girl a good distance away from the group and sat down on the ground, holding her close, combing her fingers through the blonde curls. Looking down at a tug on her shirt, Alice barely bit back the tears she felt pricking at the corners of her eyes as the girl signed 'I love you'. Signing back 'I love you too', the brunette simply waited as the little girl fell still in her arms, and then, the tell-tale growl from the small body was heard. Instead of shooting her, the woman chose to break her neck instead, and as soon as the crack was heard, she released the tears that had been building.

"I'm so sorry…I…"

Not trusting herself to speak, Alice laid her on the grass and returned to the convoy, grabbing a shovel from the truck and some scrap wood from the ground before walking wordlessly away again. Claire looked down at the ground, debating on following the other woman, before doing just that, not speaking as she watched the brunette dig a hole. Once the girl was properly buried, and a wooden cross had been fashioned for her, Alice collapsed to her knees. Moving over and kneeling next to her, Claire pulled her into her arms, letting the older woman express her emotions with no judgement. Once the silent sobs wracking the other's body subsided, the redhead lifted her head and gently wiped away the tear marks from her cheeks.

"I…don't know what to say, Alice…but…I'm here."

"Thank you, Claire…"

Nodding, she continued to hold the other woman until she moved to stand, the pair of them walking back to the convoy in silence.

 **AN: I know, I'm horrible! I promise that this will play an important part later in the story, so please, don't be angry with me!**


	5. Old Enemy, New Friend

It wasn't long before the women made it back to the other survivors, and Alice hurried by everyone, simply wanting to be alone for the time being. Even Claire didn't follow her all the way to the hummer, instead giving her lover the space she wanted, and needed after what had happened. Seating herself next to K-Mart, the redhead put an arm around her shoulders, explaining everything when the teenager asked about the little girl.

"How's Alice? I mean…they weren't actually related, but…"

"She's…as okay as can be expected, K. She just lost the closest thing to family she's had, all thanks to this stupid virus."

"I thought she destroyed the virus…"

"The T-Virus. Alice said this is a mutation, so that's why there are still zombies left."

It wasn't until later that night, after everyone was settling in for bed, that Alice emerged from the hummer. When Claire hadn't joined her, she exited the vehicle and moved over to the fire, sitting down next to the redhead.

"Hey."

"Alice, hey. You alright?"

"Yeah…what are you still doing out here?"

"I figured you needed your space, and didn't want to crowd you if you needed to be alone."

Smiling a bit, the brunette ran her hand through her hair and looked over at the younger woman, reaching to take her hand. Claire laced their fingers together and gave her hand a gentle squeeze before returning the small smile.

"I thought I needed to be alone, but…all its doing is making me anxious."

"I'm so sorry. I want to be helpful, I just don't know what to say."

"It's okay, red. Knowing I have people that care about me is enough, I promise. Though…I will ask you for one thing."

"Name it."

"Don't…get yourself bitten. I don't think I could do this again if it came down to it. I can't lose anyone else."

"I'll do my best, I promise."

Letting herself be vulnerable was something Alice usually didn't do, but when Claire turned on the parking block they were sitting on, and drew her into her arms, she allowed herself to break again. Resting her forehead against her younger lover's shoulder, the brunette let herself continue to grieve for the little girl that she'd only known a short time, but that had become such an important part of her life. Claire didn't speak, only let herself shed a few tears for both Becky, and Alice, as she knew how much the other woman was hurting. Eventually, the brunette calmed, but seemed content to remain in the redhead's arms, forehead against her shoulder. Once she collected herself, the two went to the hummer to get some sleep, and in the morning, they headed out again. With safety the number one priority in her mind, the convoy didn't stop moving unless they were in dire need of rest or gasoline. It was during one of the refueling stops that Alice moved away from the group, leaning against the back wall of the small store attached to the gas pumps. Leaning forward, she rested her head in her hands and winced as her temples gave a painful throb, as if someone had her head trapped in a vice. Clenching her eyes shut, she let out a low groan at the feeling, and when she opened them again, she saw a few drops of blood on the ground in front of her. Quickly realizing that the blood had come from her nose, she wiped it away and stood upright again, ignoring the spinning world as she heard someone approaching.

"Alice?"

"What's up, Valentine?"

"We're all gassed up and ready to…you okay? You got a nosebleed going there."

Grunting in frustration, Alice wiped the blood away again, seeming satisfied when it didn't start back this time.

"I'm good. We're all ready to go?"

"Yeah, all ready."

Nodding, and immediately regretting her decision to do so, Alice pushed off the wall only to lose her balance. Jill moved forward and caught her friend as she toppled forward, keeping the woman from crashing face first into the concrete.

"Fuck, Abernathy. What's wrong?"

"I don't know. All I DO know, is that I have a massive headache and the world is spinning right now."

Once the woman was sure that she wouldn't fall over if not supported, Alice gently pushed Jill back and gave a sigh as her headache slowly started to subside. The worried blonde lifted an eyebrow and insisted on walking back with her, to make sure she wasn't going to try and 'kiss the concrete' again. The pair rounded the corner of the building just as Claire came outside, and the three nearly bumped into each other. The redhead managed to hold onto the box she was carrying, as Alice reached out to stabilize her.

"Damn red, you okay?"

"Yeah. Found some extra batteries for the radios."

Indicating the cardboard box in her arms, she smiled at the feeling of Alice's hands on her waist, though the brunette wasn't sure if she was holding on to keep the redhead upright, or to anchor her mind. Claire pressed a kiss to the older woman's cheek before turning and heading back in the direction of the convoy. When the redhead stepped away, Alice stumbled slightly before wrangling her motor skills back under her control and following, Jill close behind just in case. While Claire moved to distribute the batteries among the vehicles, Alice went straight to the hummer, opening the passenger door and sitting down, again resting her head in her hands.

"Alice…have you eaten or drank anything since what happened?"

"A little. Haven't really had much of an appetite to be honest."

"You're probably dehydrated and malnourished you fucking idiot. Stay here, I'm bringing you some water and food, and you're going to like it."

Snorting at the demanding tone of the other woman's voice, though knowing it was out of concern, Alice put her hands up in a sign of surrender.

"Alright, alright. Don't have a shit fit, Valentine."

Grumbling, the blonde moved off to secure a bottle of water and food for her friend, as K-Mart made her way over and leaned against the hummer next to the open door. The two conversed for a bit before Jill returned, Claire following with a glare fixed on her face.

"Oh lord, someone shoot me."

Seeing the normally serene redhead wearing a glare, K-Mart pushed off the side of the vehicle and excused herself, biting her lip and mouthing 'good luck' to Alice before she left. Taking the items from Jill, as the tall blonde had decided that the brunette was more likely to comply with her wishes, Claire practically shoved the items onto her older lover's lap.

"Claire…"

"No. I know you're upset, Alice, but you can't torture yourself like this. We need you…I need you. Please…"

Letting out a sigh at the tone of the redhead's voice, Alice peered down at what had been unceremoniously plopped into her lap. Staring up at her were two bottles of water, and an assortment of packaged foods. Picking up one of the bottles of water, the brunette removed the lid and took a large drink, hoping to satisfy her lover at least a little. Immediately, she regretted the choice, as she was out of the hummer, on her knees, throwing up into the grass a few moments later.

"Alice! What's wrong?"

Kneeling next to the other woman and placing a comforting hand on her back, the redhead watched with worried green eyes as the brunette emptied the contents of her stomach until there was nothing left. Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, the older woman collapsed back against the tire of the vehicle behind her, eyes clenched shut, breath coming in rapid gasps.

"Alice…"

"Fuck me…I don't know what's going on…"

Grunting as the pain in her head returned, Alice leaned back against the somewhat cool metal body of the yellow hummer, letting it help soothe her suddenly overheated skin. Giving a low groan as she felt Claire's hand rest on her knee, the woman opened her eyes, only to find her vision blurred again.

"Something isn't right…"

"Ya think? You're burning up…we have to get you cooled down or you're going to have a heat stroke."

Allowing Claire to help her to her feet, Alice found herself inside the hummer with the AC going full blast. The cool air against her skin caused a soft sigh to escape the brunette, and before long, she found herself with a cool rag on her forehead as well, with a concerned convoy watching from a distance.

"What do you think is wrong with her??"

"I don't know, K-Mart. Claire said the second she took a drink of water she threw up, and said her vision was blurry."

Chris put a hand on the teenager's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze, smiling down at her before moving off towards the hummer where his sister was seated with Alice, the brunette gradually cooling down thanks to the AC and water soaked rags.

"How's she doing?"

"Better…she's out cold, but she's still breathing."

"Well at least she's alive. Temperature coming down?"

"Seems to be, yeah, finally. I was worried there for a while…I've never seen Alice like this. I mean, in Nevada her powers took a toll on her if she used them, but not like this…"

A soft groan caught the Redfield siblings' attention, and both of them looked down at the prone woman in the hummer, giving a sigh of relief as her blue eyes fluttered open. Reaching up, she removed the wet rag from her forehead and moved to sit upright, a gentle hand on her chest stopping her.

"Go slow, Alice…"

"Red? What the hell happened…"

"You don't remember?"

"No…not really. I remember having a splitting headache, but after that it's kind of a blur."

Biting her lip, Claire explained what had happened over the past hour, and the brunette grunted, finally managing to sit up. Once up, she groaned and leaned forward, resting her forehead against the redhead's shoulder as a mild headache picked up in her temples again.

"What the fuck is wrong with me…"

"You're mutating."

The addition of a very male, very familiar voice caused every person present to draw their guns and aim, save for Alice, who was busy trying not to start dry heaving. Standing a few feet away from the vehicle, looking a little worse for wear, was none other than Albert Wesker. Peering over at him out of the corner of her eye, the brunette managed a half-glare before hauling herself out of the hummer.

"The hell do you mean, I'm mutating…"

"Just what I said. You've been exposed to the B-Virus, a…heavily altered version of the T-Virus. Your ability to bond with the T-Virus is slowing mutation, but eventually, you will turn."

"That's bullshit! Alice is NOT going to turn into a monster!"

"Blind faith. Such a peculiar trait."

A well placed punch to his jaw sent the blonde man stumbling back slightly, a dark bruise forming on his skin. Alice smirked at seeing the bruise form, and would have hit him again if she hadn't lost her balance and stumbled back into Claire. The redhead wrapped her arms around Alice's waist to stabilize her as best she could.

"You're human."

"Yes. Before the virus was eradicated from my system, it managed to heal me."

"How did you find us?"

"Does that really matter? I'm here to help you."

Alice let out a bark of laughter, letting her hands rest on Claire's arms that were still wound around her waist to keep her upright.

"What makes you think we need your help?"

"I know where to find your cure."

Blue eyes widened a bit, meeting the blonde man's through his sunglasses before pushing out of Claire's arms and walking over to him. Ready for another punch, what Wesker got instead was a brunette passing out and falling against him. Grunting from the sudden weight, he lowered her to the ground and removed a small metal case from his bag, a vial of the green antivirus glinting in the sun. Feeling a gun pressed to his head, he turned his eyes to the form of Chris Redfield, holding his pistol flush against the man's skin.

"If you want her to live, you're going to have to trust me."

"If she dies…I'll blow your damn head off."

"Noted."

Gripping the brunette's chin, he turned her head to the side before sticking the needle into her skin, injecting the antivirus into her bloodstream. Depositing the syringe back into his bag, Wesker stood and backed up as Chris and Claire got Alice to her feet and sat her in the hummer again. Feeling a shotgun in his back caused him to look over his shoulder, smirking at seeing Jill glaring at him from behind it.

"Keep in mind, that I am the only one who knows where the serum to cure your friend is. The antivirus will keep the mutation at bay for now, but not forever. Kill me, and you doom her to turn into one of the undead. Then, you'll have to put her down yourself, like a sick dog."

"Move."

Feeling the shotgun digging into his back, the man allowed himself to be led away, and sat on one of the parking blocks under armed guard. About twenty minutes passed, with Claire watching Alice anxiously as she remained unconscious in the passenger seat of the hummer. It was a few more minutes before the woman groaned and her eyes fluttered open, and a hand shot to her neck, feeling the puncture wound from the needle.

"Alice, you're awake!"

Sitting up, the brunette looked over into the other woman's eyes with a small smile, reaching out and brushing some hair away from her face before moving to stand. Stepping back, the redhead watched her closely, ready to grab her if she became unbalanced again.

"Where is he?"

"Jill took him off somewhere, and I'm sure is guarding him. How do you feel?"

"Better. Can't believe I have Wesker to thank for that."

Stretching a bit, and grunting when her back popped, Alice checked her weapons before shooting a look over to Claire. The redhead nodded and together, the two of them approached the seated man being watched like a hawk by Jill and Chris. Looking up as a shadow fell over him, a smirk curled the blonde man's lips at seeing the brunette hovering.

"Well well, look who's awake."

Keeping her instincts to shoot the man in the head at bay, Alice sat down in front of him, again meeting his eyes through the darkness of his sunglasses. Reaching forward, the brunette yanked them from his face, and tossed them onto the ground next to her.

"Was that necessary?"

"Shut up, Wesker. I'm going to ask you some questions, and you're going to answer me. If I don't like your answers, I'll shoot you in your smug face, got it?"

The man gave nothing more than a grunt in response, folding his hands in his lap and staring directly into Alice's blue eyes with his own yellow ones. Not unnerved by the odd color in the least, the brunette didn't look away, instead, she leaned slightly closer.

"What the hell did you inject me with this time."

"The antivirus. It will keep the mutation caused by the B-Virus at bay for a while, but you will have to inject more when the symptoms return."

"Why are you helping us."

This question caused Wesker to falter slightly, and his eyes shifted away from her for a split second, but the quick-witted brunette caught it. Within a few moments he locked eyes with her again, and when he spoke, his tone was one that she'd never heard from the man, a tone full of regret.

"The B-Virus was a mistake. I was not aware of the experimentation going on, and by the time I realized it and tried to shut it down, it was too late. The researchers had already released the mutated virus into the air."

"Why were they mutating the T-Virus?"

"From what I learned, they were trying to create a form of the undead that are faster, stronger, and more intelligent. It would seem they have succeeded, as the undead still wandering around have shown an ability to learn, to adapt to their environment and become more efficient killers."

Claire grunted in disbelief, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched her lover converse with their old enemy. The only reason the redhead hadn't already shot the man in the back of the head, was the fact that Alice had asked her not to.

"You said there's a cure for this?"

"Yes, and no. If you are already mutated, like the undead the virus was introduced to, then you cannot be cured. But, someone like you, a living human who the virus is introduced to via a bite, then yes. As long as we get to the serum and you inject it before we run out of antivirus and you begin to mutate, then you are safe."

Standing, Alice picked up the man's sunglasses, and handed them back to him as he stood as well. Slipping them back onto his face, the man followed the woman as she motioned him to do so, waving off Chris and Jill, who were staring dumbfounded at Alice's apparent trust of the man who'd tried to kill them multiple times. Digging through the back of one of the vehicles, she turned around and shoved water and food into his hands.

"I suggest you relax while you can, Wesker. These people need me, and if you know of a cure for this B-Virus, then we are going after it."

"It's a long journey."

"Better rest up then. Oh, and if you cause any issues with any of my people…I'll beat your ass."

Moving off to sit down and consume what he'd been given, Wesker let his eyes travel over the small group of survivors being led by the pair of Alice and Claire. The brunette moved over to stand next to Claire and Chris, the man lifting an eyebrow at her.

"You actually trust him?"

"Trust is relative. He didn't kill me earlier, which he could have easily done. If he can help me get rid of whatever this shit is, then I don't have much of a choice. I refuse to turn into a monster…I don't want to hurt any of you."

Nodding, the older Redfield looked over and excused himself when his name was called, leaving Alice and Claire alone. The two women stood, watching the group go about their business, though being a bit leery of the ex-umbrella chairman.

"They're smart, they don't trust his ass either."

Snorting, Alice slipped her arms around Claire's waist and pulled her back against her, the redhead relaxing a bit. Neither of them noticed Wesker's yellow eyes watching them from his place on the parking block. A light kiss on the back of her neck caused the younger woman to turn her head slightly, peering at her lover from the corner of her eye as Alice rested her chin on her shoulder.

"As long as he doesn't cause issues, we can use the extra manpower."

"I guess you're right…"

Letting out a sigh, the redhead put a hand behind Alice's neck, drawing her into a quick kiss before smiling and moving off to tend to her duties. Wincing a bit once Claire was out of sight, the brunette rolled the top of her boot down, and gave a low hiss at the nasty looking bite wound on her leg, that had not fully healed. Black vein-like lines had begun to spread outward from it, the growth of them halted by the injection of the antivirus into her system. Walking over to Wesker, she bent down and spoke in the man's ear.

"You better hope we have enough antivirus to last until you get me to this serum, or I'm coming after you when I turn."

"I have plenty."

"Good. Where is this serum anyways?"

"It's inside an Umbrella facility in Ontario, Canada."

"Canada? You're kidding me…"

"I told you it was a long journey."

Grunting, she straightened up again and walked off, different scenarios playing out in her mind before she found Jill, Chris and Claire, and sprung her idea on them.


	6. Sacrifice

"No fucking way, Abernathy!"

"Claire…"

"If you think for one minute that I'm going to let you go off on your own with WESKER, then you're crazy."

"These people need someone to keep leading them, red…"

"So let Chris do it. I'm coming with you."

Giving a frustrated sigh at her lover's insistence, Alice found it more endearing than annoying, as she had expected such a response when she'd told the others her plan. Everyone was all for it, until she mentioned that she would be traveling alone with none other than Albert Wesker. The man had made a promise to get the brunette to the facility safely and make sure she reached their settlement afterwords, but the redhead would hear none of it. The blonde man was now leaning back against his vehicle, watching the exchange with an amused smirk as the two continued to go back and forth.

"Claire please, you have to understand…."

"I understand perfectly, but I'm still not letting you go with him alone. Alice he tried to kill you, remember? A lot, actually."

Scratching the back of her neck, Alice sighed and finally gave in, with Chris and Jill agreeing to continue on their path to California while the three of them detoured to Canada. When K-Mart approached, the small group all looked at her, and in unison, let out a resounding 'No'. The teenager huffed at being so easily read by the people she considered family, and Wesker, before turning and walking off again.

"I swear that girl is like a spider monkey. Once she likes you, you can't shake her off."

Chuckling at the redhead's accurate description of the hyperactive blonde, Alice shook her head and sighed, turning her attention to Wesker again.

"How much antivirus do you have?"

"Just enough to last until we reach the outer facility. I assume we will have to fight our way in, and then finding the serum should be relatively easy. The drive is just over a day with no stops and no obstacles."

"I don't think we could pay to get that lucky."

Smirking, the blonde man climbed into the large black suv he'd driven in with, and waited for Alice and Claire as they said goodbye to the convoy, trusting Chris and Jill to keep them all safe. Collecting some guns and ammo from the supply truck, the two women climbed into the large black vehicle, and Wesker wasted no time in flooring it, heading off to the north. Handing a black canvas bag to the redhead, the ex-umbrella chairman met her eyes for a moment.

"If she starts showing the same symptoms she was before…you'll have to inject another vial of the antivirus."

Taking the bag, Claire nodded and sat it in the floorboard in front of her where she sat next to Alice in the back seat. Turning his attention back to the road, the man fell silent, the only sounds being from the wind outside, and the occasional undead being run over. Reaching over, Claire took Alice's hand, the brunette entwining their fingers and shooting her a smile. Catching the movement in the rear view mirror, Wesker turned his eyes back to the road in front of him.

"You know there is a chance none of us will make it out of the facility alive?"

"I'm aware."

"Yet you were so insistent on coming along. Why?"

"Because I needed to be here…to do what I can to help Alice."

"Your loyalty to your friend is impressive, Claire Redfield."

"She's more than a friend…I love her and will do whatever it takes."

Grunting, the man continued to drive, only to come to a skidding halt as soon as the sun set. Jolting awake, the redhead blinked a couple times to clear her vision, only to see both Wesker and Alice staring out the windows of the SUV.

"You sense them too, don't you?"

"I do. We should keep moving unless we absolutely have to stop."

"Agreed…"

Throwing the SUV into drive again, Wesker pressed the gas pedal, letting out a curse as the large vehicle stayed put where it was. Pulling a pistol from his jacket, the man peered into the mirror, and seeing Alice and Claire holding weapons as well, the three of them pushed open the doors and exited. Aiming out into the darkness, the two women watched as Wesker knelt down to examine the back tires of the SUV, finding them stuck in a spot of soft dirt.

"We're stuck."

"Great. So much for no obstacles."

Suddenly, the ground around them gave a rumble, and when she realized what was happening, Alice yanked open the doors, grabbing their weapons and the bag containing the antivirus and chucked it away, jumping back just as the ground beneath the SUV collapsed.

"Shit!! We lost our ride!!"

"Damn it…"

Wesker growled in annoyance, picking up the bag with with the antivirus and slinging it over his shoulder as Alice did the same with the weapons.

"What now?"

"We walk until we find a city, and hope to whatever gods you pray to that there's a working car and some gas."

The trio started walking, being sure to always head north, hoping to run into a city or town sooner rather than later. It was a couple days before a town came into view, and just at the outskirts, Claire felt her knees buckle and she would have collapsed to the ground had Alice not caught her.

"Shit, red…you're burning up…Wesker!"

"What?"

"We have to find somewhere to get out of the sun. Claire is going to have a heat stroke if we don't."

Grunting, the man looked around, and spotted a building that looked to be in decent condition, and nodded towards it. Pulling the redhead's arm around her shoulders, Alice and Wesker headed towards the building, and once inside, the brunette sat her younger lover down at one of the tables in a small café area. Brushing some hair out of the woman's face, Alice kissed her forehead before standing and moving to a sink nearby, and had never been happier to have cold water hit her hand when she turned the knob.

"Thank god."

Wetting a dishcloth she found behind the counter, she moved back over to the table and placed it on the redhead's forehead. While Alice took care of the other woman, Wesker moved off into the large store, returning with bottled water and food that he laid on the table. The trio ate and drank what they could, the heat having gotten to all of them a bit.

"We should stay here for the night, try to find a car in the morning. She can't keep walking in this heat, it'll kill her."

"There's a camping section, we can set up the cots for the night."

Nodding, Alice gently pulled Claire to her feet with an arm around her waist, and they headed back to the outdoors section of the store where the blonde man sat up three camping cots. Lowering the redhead onto one of them, Alice did her best to make sure her lover was comfortable. Once the redhead was settled, the older woman sat down on another cot and looked over at Wesker, who was checking his ammunition.

"I never did thank you…"

"For what?"

"Helping me. I know we've never been on the same side, but…thank you."

"….You're welcome…."

The soft words from the normally brash woman had caused the blonde to pause in making sure his guns were loaded and clean, and when he looked over, seeing her move from her cot to sit next to Claire and take her hand, a small smile tugged his lips. Catching the slight upturn of the man's lips, Alice turned to him with a lifted eyebrow.

"What?"

"It's just odd, seeing such loyalty between people."

"Yeah well, the end of the world changes a lot."

Setting his gun aside, the man watched as Alice kept the rag on her lover's forehead wet and cool, and practically heard the breath of relief when the redhead's temperature began to lower. Claire opened her eyes after a few minutes, and once her vision cleared, she smiled up at the older woman, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Hey red, had me worried for a minute. How you feeling?"

"Better now, thanks to you. Where are we, anyways?"

"Well it used to be a Meijer."

Chuckling, Claire reached up and removed the rag from her forehead before reaching up and putting a hand behind Alice's head. Drawing her down, and ignoring the man sitting maybe ten feet away, the two met in a brief kiss before the brunette smiled and pulled back.

"Get some rest, Claire. I mean actual rest, not heat induced rest."

Chuckling and nodding, the younger woman relaxed against the cot, giving a sigh at the pillow under her head before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. Looking over at their unlikely ally, Alice spoke to him.

"Get some sleep. I'll take watch."

"If you insist."

"I'm not human, remember? I don't need much sleep."

Nodding, the blonde holstered his gun inside his jacket and moved to get comfortable, as much as possible, on the small camping cot. Seating herself on her own, the brunette kept her eyes and ears open, scanning for any threat within the large store. About halfway through the night, a loud clatter was heard from somewhere decently close, and Alice immediately stood up, aiming her gun in the direction of the noise. Clicking on a flashlight, she held it in her opposite hand, underneath the barrel of her pistol, just waiting for something to come into the beam of light. Right behind where they had the cots set up, a large, heavy tent box fell from the shelf, causing Alice to spin and aim her gun, waking Claire and Wesker with a start, both shooting to their feet.

"What's going on."

"We're surrounded…the bastards are waiting…waiting for all of us to fall asleep."

"I told you. The B-Virus increases their intelligence."

Narrowing her eyes against the darkness, Alice felt a pressure in her temples, giving a low groan and shaking her head. Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Wesker suddenly turned and aimed his gun right towards her head.

"I suggest you duck."

Blue eyes widened and she indeed ducked down just as he pulled the trigger, bullet striking an unusually stealthy undead in the forehead. A chorus of growls was heard as the zombies finally made their move, swarming forward from all directions. The trio opened fire, dropping one after the other, the blonde man at one point shooting one that had snuck up directly behind the redhead.

"Thanks!"

Not having time to respond as he was knocked to the ground as one of the undead dropped on him from the top of a shelf, he grunted as his gun skidded away across the floor. Planting his forearm against the creature's neck, he reached for the discarded weapon. The weight of the zombie on top of him suddenly vanished as Alice pulled it away, snapping its neck and dropping it to the floor before holding a hand out to help him up. Letting her pull him to his feet, Wesker grabbed his gun again, and the trio found themselves back to back as they were again surrounded. Fighting against the pain in her head, the brunette focused, her pupils dilating, each of the undead suddenly falling to the ground. Alice followed after a few moments, clutching the sides of her head as the pain increased to a near unbearable level. Grabbing his canvas bag from the cot, Wesker knelt down and pulled a vial of antivirus from the bag, injecting the green serum into the brunette's neck.

"Shit…we need to keep moving. We have to get to the facility."

Gathering their supplies, Claire pulled one of Alice's arms over her shoulders as they moved outside to search for a vehicle. Managing to locate an old VW bus, that was surprisingly well taken care of and full of gas, they found themselves on the road again within minutes. Alice sat in the passenger seat, the ache in her head slowly dissipating thanks to the antivirus, while Claire sat in the back doing inventory of their guns and supplies. Wincing, the brunette again rolled the top of her boot down, clenching her jaw as she saw more black vein-like lines now adorning her skin.

"The mutation is progressing. Slowly, but its still progressing."

"You're sure this serum we're going after will stop it?"

"Yes, I am."

"It better, because if Alice dies because of it not working, I will personally put a bullet in your skull, Wesker."

"Duly noted, Redfield."

Snorting at the exchange between her lover and the blonde man, Alice shook her head and kept her eyes on the road in front of them. The old bus continued on its route, only stopping once or twice for gas, it was a little over a day and a half later that they found themselves in Canada. Wesker stopped the bus just inside the city of Ontario, getting a confused look from the two women in the back.

"We can't drive up to the facility, it will be guarded. I know of a secret entrance used to evacuate if the need arises. We can get in that way."

"Lets just get this done."

Nodding, the blonde led them down a set of stone steps that emerged into a wide tunnel under the streets. He clicked on a flashlight and led them down the tunnel, stopping only when he reached a large black door with the umbrella logo printed on it.

"This should lead us into the main facility, and from there, it's a short elevator ride down to the labs where the serum is."

"Good. Lets do this and get the hell out of here."

Pushing open the door, Wesker aimed his gun inside, expecting the lights to flicker on automatically. When they didn't he narrowed his eyes and held his hand out to Alice, silently requesting a flashlight, which was handed over within a few moments. The two women pulled their guns, and followed him inside, the door sliding shut behind them and sealing. Turning slightly, Claire met Alice's eyes in the dark as they continued to follow the blonde man further into the facility. Once they reached another set of doors, the lights blazed to life, momentarily blinding the trio as they stepped into the main facility.

"How far is this elevator, Wesker?"

"Not far. We should reach it in a few minutes, provided we don't have any unwelcome surprises waiting for us."

Giving the flashlight back to the brunette, Wesker moved down the hallway, yellow eyes scanning the walls. Blood could be seen smeared along the pristine white tile of said walls and floor, with some splatter on the ceiling as well. Just as he'd said, the main elevator came into view after a couple minutes of walking, and Claire reached out and pressed the call button.

"It's quiet…"

"Too quiet. Something's not right."

Loud dings echoed off the walls of the hallway as the elevator slowly rose to their floor, and when the doors opened, the redhead covered her mouth as six bodies, nearly torn apart, were revealed. Reaching over, Alice put a hand on her back, giving her a small smile before stepping into the elevator, sharp blue eyes scanning the bodies for bite marks.

"It's safe, none of them are infected."

Claire stepped onto the elevator next, followed by the ex-umbrella chairman, who pressed the button for the bottom floor, where the labs were located. As the doors slid shut, the trio couldn't suppress a small chuckle as light-hearted, lilting music flooded the small space.

"The end of the world, and elevator music is STILL the most annoying thing known to mankind."

"I like it."

Both women turned, lifting eyebrows at the man standing behind them as he declared his like for the lighthearted music. Giving them a tiny smirk, he removed his sunglasses and tucked them into the pocket of his jacket. It was a few more moments before the elevator dinged, and a robotic voice announced they had reached the labs, and the doors slid open. The sight that greeted them made even Alice turn her head away for a split second before aiming her gun into the room. Blood covered nearly every surface, the once pristine white stained red, dozens of bodies slumped on the floor.

"Jesus…what happened…"

"I'm guessing the B-Virus got a bit harder to control than they thought it would."

Stepping out of the elevator first, Wesker lifted his gun, the lights flickering every few seconds above them. Claire and Alice followed, the brunette's senses on high alert, not wanting anything to sneak up on them. Approaching a glass door, the blonde man peered inside only to growl and slam his elbow into the glass, shattering it before turning around.

"It's gone."

"What?!"

"The serum, it's gone."

A soft chuckle from behind them caught their attention, and the two women turned around, aiming at the source of the sound. Standing there, in a white lab coat with streaks of red, stood a woman, holding a vial of purple liquid.

"Looking for this?"

Wesker clenched his jaw, keeping his gun aimed at the researcher in front of them as well, his yellow eyes locking with hers.

"Hand it over!"

"Oh, you are in no position to make demands. Drop your weapons, or I'll destroy this."

Hesitating for a moment, before putting down their guns as the woman shook the vial with two fingers, the trio watched carefully as she approached. The woman kicked the weapons across the floor, out of reach before circling around them, clicking her tongue.

"I always knew you were worthless, Albert Wesker."

"You know this bitch?"

"We worked together a few times. She's insane, even for Umbrella standards."

Laughing, the woman lifted herself to sit on one of the desks, tossing the purple vial back and forth between her hands. Alice narrowed her eyes, and thought for a split second about using her power, only to feel a hand on her shoulder, with Wesker speaking at a low enough volume to not be overheard.

"Don't. Using your power only speeds up the mutation. We need to get that vial away from her and inject you before its too late."

The brunette's sharp eyes caught the woman moving her hand and pressing a button, but by the time she realized what was happening, it was too late to warn the other two. The floor dropped out from under them and they fell into what appeared to be a room with glass walls, and a cement floor. Groaning as they collided with the hard surface, it wasn't long before a voice came over the speakers, taunting them.

"Let's see how you fare against the B-Virus without your guns and fancy powers!"

A door at the end of the large room opened, and within moments, undead infected with the B-Virus surged forward. The three of them found whatever they could to use as weapons, with Alice opting to go for hand-to-hand combat for the most part, occasionally using a chair or table leg. It wasn't until a scream of pain tore through the air that Alice gave in and used her telekinesis to destroy the head of a zombie that had been on top of Claire. Wesker knelt next to the redhead, and his jaw clenched a bit before he called out to Alice.

"She's bitten!"

"FUCK."

Moving over as well, Alice knelt down next to her younger lover, seeing the angry bite wound on the woman's shoulder.

"Claire…I TOLD you not to come! God damn it!"

The sound of a scream from the room above, and a metal case falling to the ground caught their attention. Alice pulled one of Claire's arms around her shoulders, and followed Wesker as he moved through the open door at the end of the room. Inside, they found themselves on another elevator which took them back to the floor above. The researcher from before was lying on the ground, a dead zombie next to her, with a clearly broken leg. The purple serum was on the ground a few hundred feet away, and Wesker knelt down to pick it up. Suddenly, Alice grabbed her head and fell to the ground, Claire landing next to her as her weight had been supported by the older woman. Coughing, the brunette again emptied the contents of her stomach on the bloody white tile floor, shaking slightly.

"There's only one vial…only one of you can be cured."

"Claire…give it to Claire…"

"You're willing to give up your life for her?"

"Damn right I am."

Loading the purple serum into the needle gun, Wesker approached the fallen Redfield, and after getting an insistent nod from Alice, injected it into her bloodstream. Smiling, the brunette groaned and clenched her eyes, feeling a searing pain shoot through her leg, spreading over her entire body inch by inch. Once Claire came back to herself, she and Wesker moved over to the fallen woman, the man lifting her easily into his arms. Claire collected their guns, and they began to move out of the facility, only stopping when Alice spoke.

"You have to leave me here."

"What? Alice, no…"

"Red you know I'm right…if I'm going to mutate…it's not safe."

"You won't…"

"Wesker, put me down."

Hesitating for just a moment, the blonde did as asked, settling the woman on the ground where she could lean back against the wall. The redhead immediately knelt beside her, taking her hand and squeezing it as they locked eyes.

"Alice…I can't lose you. There has to be another way…"

Looking desperately to the ex-umbrella chairman, she choked back a sob when he shook his head.

"The only chance would be if her body bonded with the virus like it did the T-Virus. It's a slim-to-none chance, I'm afraid."

"Go, red. The survivors need you."

Claire wrapped her arms around her lover's neck, burying her face against the older woman's shoulder as she let her tears fall. Alice wrapped her own arms around her waist, holding her close while she still had control over her mind.

"I love you, Claire."

"I love you too, Alice."

The two remained wrapped in each other's arms until the brunette felt weakness start to overtake her, and her vision began to darken at the edges. She gently pushed Claire back, peering into her eyes one last time.

"You gotta go. Wesker…get her to California. Make sure she stays safe, please…"

"I will."

Putting a gloved hand on the redhead's shoulder, Wesker coaxed her to her feet and the two of them headed off towards the VW bus parked a distance away. Watching her lover walk away with the man who was once her mortal enemy, Alice smiled sadly and allowed a few tears to fall. Pulling her pistol from it's holster, she checked the magazine and chuckled at the irony.

"One shot. Better make it a good one."

The last thing Claire heard before the bus rumbled to life and took her away from the woman she loved, was a lone gunshot that seemed to tear through her heart as Wesker drove away. Back at the umbrella facility, Alice slumped against the wall and the gun fell from her hand as her consciousness slowly faded to black.

"I'm sorry…red…"

AN: DON'T HATE ME!!! *flails* I thought about leaving this story here, with a typical not-so-happy ending. If you want me to continue, please review!! They make me a happy happy wolf!


	7. From the Ashes

Almost six months had passed since Claire and Wesker left Alice in Ontario, the man having proven very helpful getting the settlement up and running. For the first two months, Claire had watched the horizon to the north, hoping against hope that the brunette would survive her infection and arrive at New Hope. Every day she didn't, Claire lost a little more hope that she'd ever see her older lover again. Chris and Jill were expecting a child, and K-Mart had begun exploring the world of dating as well, the girl discovering very quickly that she didn't care for boys. The redhead had been thrown back into the role of leader the moment she and the blonde man had arrived, and when everyone learned the news of what had happened to Alice, the entire settlement mourned for her.

"Hey, Claire."

Turning at the sound of her brother's voice, the redhead lowered the binoculars from her eyes and smiled slightly before leaning against the wooden wall behind her.

"Hey Chris. How's Jill doing?"

"Good. Going kinda crazy since she can't really do much, but other than that good. See anything interesting today?"

"No. Nothing but dust and an empty road."

Putting his hand on his sister's shoulder, Chris squeezed gently, knowing how much losing Alice had affected her. Covering his hand with hers, Claire let a few tears fall as she again thought about her older lover lying on the ground, slowly turning into a monster. Taking a shaky breath, the two turned their attention to the area within the reinforced wooden walls, that were slowly being replaced by stone and metal.

"At least we have a safe place here. People can slowly start to re-populate, have a semblance of a normal life."

Her green eyes landed on Wesker, helping erect one of the metal reinforcements to the east wall of their settlement. Shaking her head, she chuckled at the fact that someone who used to be one of their most invincible enemies was now helping them build a life in California.

"Never would have thought he'd turn out to be a good guy."

"Me either. I thought she was insane for trusting him...hey, we're going to have to make a supply run soon. You wanna take this one or stay here with Jill?"

"I'll go. She has a few months left before she's due, so I think I'll be good."

Nodding, Claire and Chris climbed down the ladder that led up to the lookout post, and the man put together a group to go to the nearby city of Los Angeles, the city much safer now that the undead were gone for the most part. A few infected with the B-Virus, or some other mutation, still lingered but were easy enough to take down. Claire opted to remain behind this time, wanting to help speed up fortification of their walls if she could.

"Be careful, Chris."

"Always am."

Ruffling his sister's long red hair, the man chuckled when she punched him in the shoulder, before he and their group climbed into their vehicles and left, heading towards the big city. From their settlement, it only took a couple hours to reach the City of Angels, and when they arrived, the group dispersed on ATV's to collect what they could from the stores that littered the streets. The sound of engines caught the attention of someone on the roof of a nearby convenience store, and they pulled binoculars from their bag. Smirking when they caught sight of the group of about ten people, they made their way down from the rooftop, simply waiting. It was a couple hours before Chris and his team were loading what they'd found into two trucks, and familiar groans and growls caused them to freeze and draw their weapons.

"Shit…that's a lot of zombies…"

"What do we do, Redfield?"

As soon as the other man spoke, the zombies surged forward, and the survivors opened fire, taking out as many as they could. Pushing off from her spot on the wall, the watcher approached the group, a sharp whistle catching the attention of some of the undead. Gunshots rang out from her pistols as she fired, each bullet hitting its mark with practiced ease, sharp eyes scanned the area from behind a pair of aviators, and when she saw Chris on the ground, struggling with one of the enhanced zombies, she stalked over to them. Just as the creature was about to latch onto the man's arm, it was pulled back and literally had its head kicked from the rest of its body. Taking the stranger's hand, Chris got to his feet and shot her a small smile.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it, Redfield. Your sister would kill me if I let you get yourself bit."

His eyes widened at the familiar voice, but before he could speak, she turned, aimed a gun over his shoulder and fired, taking out a zombie that had been creeping up behind him.

"Get these people loaded up, now! I'll handle them!"

Shaking his head a bit, Chris ordered his small team to get into their vehicles and peel out towards the settlement. Watching in his rearview, the man stared as he saw the now familiar form moving through the crowd of zombies with a speed that rivaled Wesker when they'd fought aboard the Arcadia. It was only a few moments before the last zombie dropped to the ground dead, and Chris pulled the re-supply team over to wait for the woman to catch up. When she did, he climbed out of his car and pulled the brunette into a tight hug, which was immediately returned.

"Holy fuck, Alice."

"Hey, Chris…"

"You're alive…"

"In a manner of speaking, yeah."

Releasing her from the hug, the pair got into the car and everyone headed back towards the settlement again. The woman explained her existence the best she could on the ride back, and when the radio crackled to life and she heard Claire's voice, a grin curled her lips.

"Hey, Claire. We're on our way back now, and I'm bringing you a present."

"A present? What is it?"

"Oh no you don't. You'll find out when we get there. It's only a couple hours."

Alice barely stifled a laugh at the annoyance in the other woman's voice when she told him to hurry up with the supplies. Putting the radio down, Chris chuckled and turned his eyes to Alice again for a moment.

"Beware when she sees you. I don't know if she's going to kiss you or slap you."

"Both, more than likely."

The pair settled into a comfortable silence for the remainder of the ride, the brunette closing her eyes and relaxing for the last half hour of their journey. Soon enough, the sound of people milling around the outside of the vehicles, unloading the supplies caught her attention, as did the sound of a familiar voice speaking to Chris. Smiling when she heard him mention the redhead's 'present', she popped her door and stepped out of the car.

"Claire, turn around. Your present is right behind you."

Blinking at her brother, she lifted an eyebrow and indeed turned around, at first only seeing herself reflected in the aviator's the other woman wore. Her eyes then ran over the familiar contours of the other woman's face, taking in her shaggy brown hair, the redhead taking a step back. Reaching up, Alice pulled the sunglasses from her face, familiar blue eyes meeting shocked green.

"Hey red."

"Alice…"

"In the flesh."

Dropping the sunglasses she'd been holding into the dirt, Alice wrapped her arms tight around the redhead as the other woman practically threw herself against her. Chris excused himself to give the two women a little privacy, only smiling and guiding the others away.

"Alice! You're…you're alive!"

Claire buried her face in the older woman's shoulder, tears soaking the shirt Alice wore before the brunette lifted her head and wiped away the tears with her thumbs. Letting out a choked laugh, the redhead tightened her arms around the other woman's neck and pulled her into an almost bruising kiss. Alice rested her hands on her younger lover's waist, immediately returning the kiss and pulling her as close as humanly possible. Eventually the two parted when the need for air became too great to ignore, and they rested their foreheads together, both wearing a wide smile.

"I thought I'd lost you, you bitch."

Grinning and chuckling a bit, Alice closed her eyes for a moment before brushing some hair out of Claire's face. Hearing a shocked gasp, the redhead stepped back and looked towards the sound, seeing K-Mart rooted to her spot, staring.

"Hey, K."

"Alice?"

Nodding, the brunette turned and held her arms out to the young blonde, immediately being wrapped in another hug. Alice ran her fingers through the girl's hair as she sobbed into the woman's shoulder. Biting back her own tears, Alice smiled and let the teenager hold on as long as she wanted, meeting Claire's eyes over her head. The younger woman wiped her eyes and put a hand on the blonde's shoulder when she finally released Alice.

"Why don't you go help with supplies? I'll show her around and then we can all catch up later tonight, okay?"

"Yeah, sure thing."

Wiping her eyes on her sleeve, K-Mart did as asked, sending a smile to the brunette as she turned and walked away. Claire started to walk off, motioning for the older woman to follow her, which she did, easily falling into step beside her.

"This place is amazing red. Everyone looks so happy, and healthy."

"We do our best. We've lost a few people to the occasional undead, but we're mostly safe."

"I'm just glad Wesker kept his word and got you here."

"He's been a big help, and the majority of the people here trust him now."

Smiling, Alice let her eyes wander around the settlement, seeing the man they'd just been speaking about talking to a VERY pregnant Jill Valentine.

"Woah, wait…Jill is…"

"Yeah, her and Chris are expecting."

Grinning at the fact that the other woman hadn't seen her, Claire watched as Alice approached the blonde woman.

"Damn, Valentine. You've sure let yourself go."

Turning, Jill stared in shock at the woman she thought to be dead, with Wesker giving a grunt of surprise as well. Wrapping her arms around her old friend as the woman caught her in a hug, the brunette laughed and motioned to her stomach with a raised eyebrow. Jill blushed, clearing her throat and peering over at Chris as he helped sort out the supplies they'd gotten from the last run. When Wesker spoke, Alice barely bit back a laugh at the disbelieving tone of the ex-chairman's voice, the man having been utterly unreadable before.

"You…survived? How? The B-Virus, and the gunshot…"

"I'll tell you all later. I don't want to have to repeat it fifty-billion times. It's good to see you fitting in with normal society, though, Wesker. Thank you, for getting Claire here safely."

"I gave you my word."

Smiling, she put a hand on his shoulder and gave Jill a little smirk before following Claire through the settlement. Entering the house that the redhead had claimed as her own, the two walked into the living area, which also served as a sort of control room. Picking up a radio, Claire switched frequencies and made an announcement over the speakers spread out through New Hope.

"Attention, New Hope. I want everyone to gather at the school tonight for a celebration of sorts. Eight o clock sharp!"

Putting the radio down, Claire let out a sigh as she felt Alice wrap her arms around her waist from behind, something she never thought she'd feel again. Tilting her head to the side when she felt the brunette press her lips to her neck, the younger woman closed her eyes and rested her hands on Alice's arms.

"You've done a great job here, red. Everyone is happy, healthy, has shelter…always knew you were a born leader."

Grinning slightly as the brunette pressed another kiss to her neck, Claire turned around in her arms, lacing her fingers together behind her neck. Smiling down at her, Alice rested their foreheads together and closed her eyes, simply enjoying the moment.

"I knew you weren't dead. I knew it."

"It was close, Claire. I didn't think I was going to make it…but somehow, beyond all reason, my freakish self decided to bond with the B-Virus, ON TOP of the T-Virus. I…I can feel it, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Sometimes I…don't feel like myself. Like the mutation from the B-Virus is still trying to take control of me. I feel like there's a monster inside me, just waiting to claw its way out and destroy everything."

Seeing the pain flash briefly in the other woman's eyes, Claire pulled her down into a gentle kiss, putting a hand on the back of her neck. Alice returned the kiss, hands resting lightly on the redhead's waist again, giving a soft sigh against her lips. The pair stayed that way for a while, simply enjoying the closeness that both thought they would never have again. Eventually, Claire showed Alice around the medium sized home, multiple rooms set up as command centers for different tasks within their settlement, including a population count.

"Damn…nearly five thousand people?"

"Yeah. In the six months since you…well…since Canada, more and more survivors have heard our broadcasts and found their way here."

"That's amazing, red. The name of this place really fits."

Chuckling slightly, the redhead nodded and it wasn't long until the tour of the house ended at Claire's bedroom. Smirking slightly, Alice leaned against the doorframe and settled her younger lover with a look.

"Trying to hint at something?"

"Mm, later, for sure. Right now, we have a celebration to get to."

Grinning as Claire passed her, giving her a playful swat on the rear, Alice turned and followed her, the pair leaving the house and heading to the school. When they entered the gymnasium, where everyone seemed to automatically gather, the brunette let her eyes wander over everyone. Lifting a hand in greeting when she saw K-Mart, the two of them headed across the floor to join her where she sat with Chris and Claire. Suddenly feeling a small body rocket into her legs, Alice lifted an eyebrow and peered down at the young boy attached to her. Ruffling his hair, it wasn't long before the brunette was recognized by more and more people, all of whom welcomed her back with warm smiles and hugs. Finding herself suddenly approached by Wesker, the woman lifted an eyebrow at him when he spoke.

"I need to speak with you, preferably alone."

"Uh, okay then?"

Excusing herself for a moment with a kiss to Claire's cheek, she and the ex-chairman stepped out into the hallway outside of the gym. Leaning against the wall, the brunette waited patiently as the blonde seemed to be thinking over his words very carefully.

"The woman that was at the facility…what happened to her?"

"I don't know. Last I saw of her was when we were leaving, and she was on the floor with a broken leg."

Grunting, the man crossed his arms and leaned on the wall as well, yellow eyes meeting Alice's blue ones.

"You bonded with the B-Virus…how?"

"Fuck if I know. I guess I'm just a freak of nature."

Wesker grunted a bit and turned his head to look out the doors at the darkening night sky. Peering over as well, Alice winced slightly as she felt what had become a familiar feeling over the past six months seeping into her bones. The light pops and cracks weren't lost on Wesker as he turned his eyes back to the brunette who had her own eyes closed, concentrating on pushing the feeling back. Once she was sure she was back in complete control of her body, she opened her eyes and gave a quiet sigh.

"Your body still wants to mutate."

"No. It's not mutation, it's…I don't know what it is. I don't feel like I'm turning…but every now and then I just want to destroy everything around me. Really useful in a fight though."

"Do the others know?"

"Claire does…and now you, but you're the only two, and I'd prefer to keep it that way."

"Understandable."

Looking over as the door opened, the two of them were greeted by K-Mart sticking her head out into the hallway.

"We're going to play some games, you two want in?"

Before the man could decline, Alice smirked and agreed for both of them, catching Wesker's eyes with a smirk.

"You gotta get used to being normal eventually. Come on, it won't kill you."

Shaking his head, he followed her back into the gymnasium, with a group of adults sitting down, K-Mart insisting they play a good old fashioned game of spin the bottle. Everyone simply stared at the girl as if she'd lost her mind, before eventually giving in and agreeing to the game, as they didn't have much else to do. Alice and Wesker settled into their places, the brunette wearing a smirk and the ex-chairman looking extremely uncomfortable.

"You're playing, Wesker?"

"Since your woman decided to speak for both of us, I suppose I am."

Alice whistled innocently, grunting when Claire elbowed her in the side with a chuckle and a shake of her head. Grinning, the woman wrapped an arm around the redhead's waist and pulled her against her side, kissing her cheek.

"Hey, no head starts you two!"

K-Mart grinned at the pair of women before starting the game, giving the bottle a good spin, and laughing when it landed on none other than Alice.

"Well shit."

Rolling her eyes, the blonde leaned over and kissed the woman on the cheek, insisting the brunette take her turn when she tried to pass. Giving a dramatic sigh, she caved and flicked the neck of the bottle with her finger, watching it slow down. When it stopped, and she saw who it had landed on, her grin dropped and she stared.

"Oh hell no. I mean, we're on the same side now but there is NO WAY IN HELL I'm kissing you."

"Come on, superwoman. What's a kiss on the cheek between friends, huh?"

Turning her head to stare unbelievingly at her lover, Alice's jaw dropped, causing everyone to laugh. Even Wesker chuckled slightly before freezing as the ex-project indeed planted a quick kiss to his cheek, grumbling the entire time.

"There, happy?"

Snorting, the redhead looked over, catching the man's expression out of the corner of her eye and bursting into laughter. Grunting, he leaned forward and flicked the bottle himself, grumbling about playing the game as it landed on another of the younger men in the circle.

"I am not kissing a man."

"Fine, who's going next? Claire?"

"I guess."

Smiling, the redhead gave the bottle a nice firm spin, grinning when it landed on her brunette lover. Turning, Claire moved to straddle the older woman's lap, smirking at the surprised look that bloomed on her face. Putting her hand behind the other woman's neck, she yanked her forward into a deep kiss, feeling Alice grip her hips tightly. Everyone in the small circle groaned, and K-Mart cleared her throat after a couple minutes. Claire finally pulled back and placed her forehead against her lover's whispering so that only she could hear.

"Just a reminder of what's going to happen when we get back to the house."

"Oh, trust me red, I haven't forgotten. In fact….I say we end this game a little early and get the fuck out of here."

Concentrating for a split second, the sound of the bottle shattering was heard, along with a huff from K-Mart.

"Oh, good going Claire! Alice got so distracted she broke our bottle!"

"Sorry, K. I think we're gonna get out of here though…I'm kinda exhausted from all the traveling I've been doing to get here."

Grateful for the demise of the simple beer bottle, Wesker was up and out of the gymnasium in record time, with everyone simply chuckling at how uneasy the man had been. Standing, the two women said goodnight to everyone and headed out, walking hand in hand towards the redhead's house.


	8. Proper Reunion

**WARNING: This chapter contains shameless, shameless smut and (attempted) dirty talk. If you don't want to read this, then I recommend skipping ahead in the chapter. But let's face it…who doesn't want to read smut between these two hotties?**

As soon as the two were inside, Claire found herself shoved up against the door and locked in a passionate kiss with her lover. Groaning softly, the redhead tangled her hands in Alice's shaggy brown hair, tugging slightly as she felt the older woman's short nails digging into the skin of her waist. Wasting no time, Claire slipped her hands down and under the other woman's tank top quickly gripping the hem and yanking it up over her head, letting it flutter carelessly to the floor behind them. Groaning when she felt her vest and shirt also quickly discarded, the redhead opened her eyes and met Alice's.

"I want you…"

"Really? I couldn't tell."

With a grin, the brunette quickly unfastened the younger woman's bra, letting it drop between them, before tangling a hand in long red hair, yanking her head to the side and pressing her lips to Claire's neck. A low moan escaped her as Alice lifted her free hand, immediately cupping one breast, letting her thumb brush across the nipple. The older woman trailed her lips down Claire's neck, the hand in her hair slipping down to join her other on the redhead's chest. The younger woman put a hand on the back of Alice's head, fingers tangling in her hair a bit.

"Alice…"

"Hmm?"

Grinning, the brunette lifted her head again, pressing her lips to Claire's and lifting the woman easily, where she slipped her legs around Alice's waist. The older woman carried her over towards the couch, opting to lower them to the ground instead. Feeling the hard floor against her back caused a grin to curl the redhead's lips, and she met the other woman's blue eyes as she peered down at her. The pair met in another kiss as the older woman unfastened her pants and pulled them down, taking her underwear with them. Claire kicked off her shoes, allowing Alice to discard her pants, groaning when she felt her lover's hands run back up her legs, nails dragging over her skin. The brunette pressed her lips to Claire's neck again, letting her hands rest on the other woman's hips as she trailed kisses and gentle bites down to the top of her chest. Letting out a soft moan at the bite, a hand on the back of the brunette's head again, the younger woman let her eyes drift closed. Slipping down a bit further, Alice let her tongue brush over the redhead's nipple before closing her lips around it, one hand moving up to the other breast. The brunette felt Claire's fingers tangle in her hair again, and grinned against her skin, her free hand slipping down between them.

"Damn, red…I didn't know I got you that excited."

"Oh come on…"

"What?"

Groaning, the redhead shifted her hips, trying to push herself against Alice's hand that was resting gently against her. She pulled her hand away when she felt the shift, pulling back and shifting up to look down into the other woman's eyes. Grabbing her younger lover's wrists, she pinned her hands above her head with a grin.

"Alice!"

"Hmmm?"

"Stop teasing me, damn you!"

Clicking her tongue a few times, the brunette shook her head and smirked, leaning down to kiss her neck. Claire immediately turned her head to the side, groaning when her lover bit down on her earlobe, a raspy chuckle escaping into her ear.

"Tell me what you want."

"You know what I want."

"Mm, but I want to hear you say it."

Being as patient as she could, Alice continued to press gentle, teasing kisses and nips to the younger woman's neck. Claire tried to wrangle her voice back under her control, the other woman's lips distracting her and making it quite difficult. The brunette groaned against her neck, planting a rather hard bite on the place the redhead's neck and shoulder met, smirking when she realized there would more than likely be a mark the next morning.

"Ah! Damn it, Alice! Just fuck me already!"

A wide, toothy grin met Claire's eyes when Alice lifted up and gazed down at her again, her hand again slipping down between them. Shifting just a bit the older woman slipped her fingers into her lover and both of them let out a soft groan. The redhead tilted her head to the side, opening her eyes a bit when she felt Alice making her way down her body with kisses and nips.

"You smell fucking amazing, red."

Unable to question the odd statement, Claire's response turned into a low, rather loud moan as she felt the older woman's lips descend on her. Moving to tangle her hands in the woman's hair again, Claire panicked for a split second when she found herself unable to do so. Looking up, she saw nothing holding her hands in place, and then moved her eyes to look down at Alice in disbelief.

"Alice?"

"Mm, relax Claire. I'm in control. I'm not gonna rip your arms off or anything."

Grunting at apparently having her arms pinned by the brunette's telekinesis, Claire let herself relax against the pillow, all thought fleeing her mind as Alice closed her lips around her small bundle of nerves and applied gentle suction as she added another finger. A loud moan echoed off the walls of the mostly empty room as the redhead clenched her eyes shut. Reaching up, Alice let her free hand close on the other woman's breast, gently tugging at her nipple.

"Fuck, Alice I…

A low growl against her caused another loud moan to slip from Claire's lips and she opened her eyes just a bit, peering down at her lover. Sensing the other woman's eyes on her, Alice looked up, and Claire could have sworn she saw a slight glow. Unable to ask about the glow, the redhead was quickly rendered speechless as the older woman focused her attention back on the task at hand, and Claire found herself tumbling over the edge into the fog of climax after a few moments. A grin against her skin and her hands being released from the brunette's telekinesis caused another low groan to escape the redhead as the other woman slipped up to lay next to her.

"How did you…my hands…"

"Easy. The B-Virus increased my power, and I spent those six months I was away honing my ability to control them without passing the fuck out."

Rolling so she was above the older woman, Claire chuckled and brushed some hair away from Alice's face.

"You really are a superwoman, aren't you?"

Grinning as they met in a kiss, Alice slipped her arm around Claire's waist, holding her close as the redhead let her hands wander a bit. Feeling the more primal side of her, her inner beast, flare when the younger woman bit down on the side of her neck, Alice groaned and forced it back down. Oblivious to the war raging in her older lover's body, Claire moved her lips down, slowly tracing the same path the other had taken down her own body. A low, gravely moan slipped through Alice's lips as she felt the other woman press her fingers against her, gently rubbing against her skin.

"Ah ah, you want me, you gotta say so."

Sitting up suddenly, Alice grabbed the back of Claire's neck, startling the redhead slightly with the speed of her movement and the rather rough grip on her skin. Leaning forward, again biting down on her lover's ear, the brunette's voice was little more than a guttural growl.

"I want you to fuck me, red. I want you to be as rough as your little heart desires, because you KNOW I can take it."

Feeling her body react to Alice's words, Claire shuddered against her, eyes drifting closed at hearing something so out of character for her normally romantic, gentle lover. Taking the words to heart, however, it wasn't long before the brunette had numerous bite marks and dark bruises littering her skin, each shove of her younger lover's fingers causing a low, raspy moan to slip past her lips. Claire groaned against Alice's skin, her lips, and occasionally teeth, pulling at the bundle of nerves settled between her legs. Feeling her shoulders give a slight ache from having her arms restrained above her, fastened to the leg of a sturdy table by the redhead's belt, Alice grinned. The slight pain from that, and that lingered from the bites and bruises, reminded the woman that she was indeed alive, and she cherished every second of it. Pulling away long enough to speak, Claire stared up at her lover with darkened green eyes.

"Alice…"

Lifting her head, the brunette looked down at her as best she could from behind random hair that had fallen over her eyes.

"I want you to come for me."

The words caused a shock of pleasure to shoot straight through Alice, causing her to drop her head back to the floor with a thud. Wincing, and realizing she'd more than likely have a headache later, she clenched her eyes shut.

"Do it. Come for me, right now."

Unable to hold herself back, the brunette gave a loud, deep, raspy moan as her body convulsed against the hardwood floor under her. Her hands latched onto the leather belt keeping her arms restrained, nails leaving grooves in the pliant material.

"FUCK!"

Holding the older woman's hips down as best she could with one arm across her stomach, Claire didn't remove her fingers or her lips until she calmed down and was still again. A breathless laugh from above her caught her attention and she finally moved up to lay next to her lover, releasing her hands from the belt. Wincing at seeing the marks on her wrists, Claire brought her arms down and kissed each one.

"You okay?"

"I..am…absolutely perfect."

Grinning, the redhead leaned up and caught the older woman in a kiss, this one slow and gentle, unlike what had just transpired between them. Eventually, the slight chill in the house caused the two women to get dressed, and settle on the couch with a blanket draped over them.

"How's your head? I heard that thud…"

"It's…ah…a little sore, but nothing I can't handle."

Grinning at the feel of a gentle kiss on the back of her neck, Claire leaned back against the other woman, lacing their fingers together. Shifting a little bit, the redhead turned onto her side, resting her head against Alice's chest, closing her eyes. Relaxing against the arm of the couch behind her, the brunette sighed and let her own eyes drift closed. Before she drifted off to sleep, Alice whispered into her lover's ear, letting a smile curl her lips.

"I love you, red."

A smile curled Claire's lips in her sleep and she curled closer into the warmth of the older woman, with the brunette slipping into the arms of sleep not long after. The two were awoken at some point during the night by a shrill alarm sounding throughout New Hope, one that Claire recognized immediately. Grabbing her guns, Alice followed her out the door and up to the watch post.

"What's going on, Chris?"

"There's something big and angry headed this way."

Narrowing her eyes a bit, Alice snatched the binoculars from beside her and peered through

them, letting out a low groan when she saw just what the alarm was about. Picking up a second pair, the redhead took a look as well and her jaw dropped.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me…"

Moving steadily towards the settlement, was the familiar form of one of the axeman that Claire and Alice had defeated in LA at the prison. Everyone trained with a firearm was soon lined up along the top of the walls, aiming as the large creature moved closer, waiting for the order. Wesker joined them after a moment, a rocket launcher resting on his shoulder as he stood next to the brunette.

"Jesus, Wesker, compensating for something?"

"Fuck you."

"Not the right anatomy, sorry buddy."

Smirking at the easy banter with the ex-project, Wesker situated the rocket launcher between two metal rods on the wall, watching through the scope. Wincing a bit as the sun began to peek over the horizon, Alice shielded her eyes with her hand before feeling something being pressed into her free hand. Looking down, a familiar pair of black sunglasses greeted her eyes, and she lifted her eyebrow at their owner.

"You'll need those, believe me."

Grunting, the woman slipped them onto her face and let out a breath of relief as the sun's rays faded enough for her to see again.

"Thanks."

"Don't break them."

"Only you would be concerned about sunglasses at this point in life, Wesker."

"Guys, this is adorable and hilarious, but can we focus on the big fucking axe wielding undead that's almost here? Thanks."

"Sorry, red."

Grunting as her older lover nudged her apologetically in the shoulder, it wasn't long before a shout of 'open fire' was heard, and everyone unloaded their weapons into the large creature. Wesker readied the rocket launcher, but was halted by Alice putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait…that's not going to kill it…"

"How do you know?" "Because…it's infected with the B-Virus…I can… _smell_ it."

"What, are you a dog now?"

Feeling the ground shake as the monstrous undead brought the hammer side of the axe down against the road, Alice grunted and grabbed the wall for support.

"Just call me the attack dog, I guess…"

With that, the brunette jumped over the wall, landing lightly on her feet, and immediately rolling to avoid the sharp end of the axe.

"ALICE! What the fuck are you doing?!"

"I got this, Claire, don't worry!"

"Shit, CLAIRE! There's another one!"

Tearing her eyes away from the fight in front of her, the redhead turned around and let out a loud yell as another of the axe wielding creatures broke through the wooden wall on the south side of the settlement, the wood collapsing on a family that had been taking refuge nearby. Jumping down from the guard post, Claire ran forward, unloading her gun into the creature's head, causing it to back up slightly. The sound of the rocket launcher going off was heard just as the woman pulled the young girl from the wreckage of the wall and ducked down just as the monster lifted it's axe above its head.

"CLAIRE!"

Clenching her eyes against the oncoming weapon, the redhead only cracked them open when the strike didn't come. Green met blue for a split second as Alice seemed to appear in front of them, ha

nds reaching out and catching the handle of the axe, between those of the undead.

"MOVE, RED!"

Spurred by her lover's voice, Claire picked up the child and moved far away from the fight, everyone turned to watch, and each in shock at seeing the small woman stop the large weapon mid swing. Fighting against the infection she could still feel in her blood, as well as trying to keep the axe from squishing her into the ground, Alice gave a low groan as one of her legs gave out and she went down to one knee. Wesker approached, stopping a bit ahead of the group of onlookers, and called out to the woman.

"Use it! Use the virus!"

"I can't!"

"If you don't, everyone here is going to die! DO IT!"

Grunting at the weight bearing down on her body, Alice took a deep breath and closed her eyes, giving in and letting the virus flood her body. Her eyes snapped open again, a blue glow faintly visible under the black sunglasses, and with a low growl, she pushed forward, getting back to her feet. The undead gave a growl as it was forced back, feet dragging through the debris as Alice moved forward, pushing the creature out of the settlement with her hands on its axe. Continuing to push forward, it wasn't long before the brunette let out a yell and the axe man went sailing backwards thanks to a burst of telekinesis. The force of the push tore the creature's arms from its body, leaving them hanging from the large axe that Alice now held. Grunting a bit from the weight, the woman dropped it into the dirt, dragging it behind her as she walked towards the fallen undead. With another rage fueled yell, she hefted the weapon above her head and brought it down on the creature's midsection, cutting it in half with a sickening squish.

"Alice, behind you!"

Turning, the brunette was caught the the side of the other creature's axe, rolling a few times on the ground when she was sent flying. Shaking her head and looking up as it lumbered towards her with one arm missing, thanks to Wesker's shot with the rocket launcher, Alice got to her feet. Claire watched intently as the brunette avoided a second swing with the axe, only to roll between the giant's feet and stand up behind him. Before he could turn, the woman shoved her hand _into_ his back, growling when she pulled her arm back, what looked like a spinal cord clutched in her fingers. Collapsing almost immediately, the undead went still on the ground as Alice dropped what she was holding.

"Holy fuck…"

Closing her eyes again, Alice forced the infection back, regaining control of her body and mind, before the strain on her body took its toll and she collapsed to her knees. Claire ran forward and dropped next to her, catching her as the brunette fell against her with a soft laugh. Running her hand through her lover's shaggy brown hair, the redhead kissed her forehead.

"Shit, Alice….you okay?"

"I…think so...just kinda drains my energy a little bit."

Standing up, Claire helped the other woman to her feet and the two of them turned to return to the settlement. Once there, K-Mart ran forward and hugged the women she viewed as family, having seen the older of them get hit with the axe. Reassuring the girl she was fine, Alice ruffled her hair as she released them.

"What the hell was that?"

The older woman didn't answer, however, only closed her eyes and concentrated on beating back the virus fighting for complete control of her body and mind. After a few moments, she opened her eyes again and smiled over at Claire, who had an eyebrow raised in concern.

"The B-Virus, like I said, enhanced my abilities when I bonded with it, strength included. I'm nearly indestructible now, though sometimes I wish I wasn't."

"Alice..."

"I'm barely human anymore, red. Sure I'm not mutated to the extent that these...things...are, but it's still there."

The redhead watched as her lover shook her head and walked away, not following as she knew the other woman wanted to be alone for the time being. Approaching the girl who'd lost her parents when the axemen had broken down the barrier around New Hope, Claire and Kmart sat with her while the others went about fixing the hole.


	9. A New Plan

It wasn't until later that night that Alice emerged from the building she'd been hiding within to gather her thoughts. Running a hand through her hair, she cast her eyes around the settlement, noting that everyone, or almost everyone, had retired to bed. Approaching the seated form of her lover, Alice sat next to her by the small fire and reached over to lay a hand on her knee. Jumping a bit, as she'd been lost in thought, Claire peered over at the other woman with a small smile.

"Sorry red, didn't mean to scare ya."

Clearing her throat, the redhead turned her eyes back to the fire, thinking over what had happened previously in the day. A gentle squeeze on her knee caught the woman's attention and she peered over at her brunette lover out of the corner of her eye. Recognizing the look on the other woman's face, she interjected as soon as Alice opened her mouth.

"Don't."

"Claire…"

"DON'T. I know what you're going to do. You're going to say that we're not safe with you here, that you don't want to hurt us, blah blah blah."

"You know I'm right. I'm a monster, Claire...a killing machine."

"You are NOT a monster. Plus, I JUST got you back, and I am NOT going to lose you again. Whether you like it or not, superwoman, I need you. This entire settlement, needs you. You are the BEST defense we have against the real monsters, and god damn it, Alice, I can't do this alone."

The ex-project simply stared at her lover, blue eyes meeting green, her entire speech she'd been prepared to give flying from her brain when Claire moved to kneel in the dirt in front of her, arms going around her neck. Alice wrapped her arms around the younger woman's waist and held her close, closing her eyes and smiling against the skin of her neck.

"Okay...I'll stay."

"I love you, Alice..."

"Love you too, red. Let's get home...I think both of us could use some rest after today, huh?"

Nodding, but not seeming in a hurry to release her lover, Claire pressed a gentle kiss to the side of her neck. As the pair stood and headed towards the large house the redhead had claimed as her own, the sound of soft crying met their ears, causing them to stop. Releasing Alice's hand, the younger woman pushed open the door to one of the guard-posts and stepped inside. Curled up on the floor, crying into her arms, was the young girl who'd lost her family that day. Kneeling next to her, Claire reached out and pulled her into her arms, gently rubbing her back and letting her cry.

"What are you doing out here?"

"I can't go back home...it's too empty."

Alice leaned on the door-frame, crossing her arms and watching the pair with a sad smile, before she spoke up.

"Why don't you stay with us? We have extra rooms, right red?"

Turning her eyes to the older woman, Claire sent her a smile before turning her attention back to the young girl.

"She's right. I have a lot of room, and you wouldn't be alone."

Nodding slightly, the girl wiped her eyes and stood up, sniffing a bit before following the redhead out of the guard-post. Alice smiled again when she was greeted with a hug from the child, and together, the three of them made their way to Claire's home. It wasn't long before she was situated in one of the spare rooms, and out like a light, her emotions and the stress of the day taking it's toll. The pair of older women retreated to the master bedroom, changing into slightly more comfortable clothes and curling together under the blankets. The ex-convoy leader rested her head on her lover's chest, hand resting lightly over her heart, and spoke softly in the relative silence of the home.

"I never want to hear you call yourself a monster again, Alice Abernathy."

"What?"

"A monster wouldn't have cared that a little girl lost her family, and a monster sure as hell wouldn't have offered said little girl a place to stay so she wouldn't be alone. You might have some abilities, but you're just as human as the rest of us."

"Claire...I…"

"Shh. We can talk in the morning. I know you're exhausted, and so am I. Her name is Emma, by the way."

Pressing a kiss to the redhead's forehead, Alice held her close, closing her eyes and allowing herself to succumb to the lure of sleep. Claire followed closely behind her, but not before pressing a gentle kiss to the side of the older woman's neck, arm slipping down to wrap itself around her waist. Later that night, the brunette was awoken by the sound of crying from down the hall, in the direction of Emma's room. Gently extracting herself from the bed, Alice slipped from the bedroom, her bare feet making almost no noise on the hardwood floors as she padded down the hallway. Stopping for a moment outside the door, she found conflicting emotions rising in her chest. Part of her, the part that had been a warrior for most of her life, told her to tell the girl to toughen up and get over it, but the maternal side of her, the side that had cared for Becky, wanted nothing more than to hold her until her crying subsided.

Eventually, her maternal instincts overpowered the other, and she pushed the door open and moved over to the bed. Sitting down, she reached over and put a gentle hand on Emma's back, the girl immediately turning and burying her face against Alice's shoulder. The ex-project gathered the young girl into her lap and held her, gently rubbing her back, not speaking for the moment. When the woman did speak, her voice was soft, a rasp of emotion making itself present in her tone.

"I'm sorry, Emma...about your parents. I wish I could have done something…"

"I'm alone now…"

"You're not alone. You have Claire, me and the rest of the people here. I think everyone in the settlement is kinda like a big family, don't you think?"

"I guess so…and you'll keep us safe, right?"

"I'm gonna do my best."

Alice felt the girl nod against her shoulder, and smiled a bit when she didn't seem to be in a hurry to release her. Settling back against the headboard of the bed, the brunette allowed Emma to sleep resting against her, her head in the older woman's lap. Not wanting to disturb her once she fell asleep again, Alice simply rested a hand on her shoulder before managing to fall asleep again as well. When Claire opened her eyes the next morning to find herself alone, she panicked slightly, wondering if Alice had taken off in the middle of the night as she was prone to doing. Getting up, the redhead wandered down the hall towards the living area, and peeked into the room where Emma was now staying, a gentle smile curling her lips at the sight that greeted her. The pair had shifted during the night, and Emma was curled up with her back to the ex-project's chest, the woman with her arm around the girl.

"Such a mom."

Claire grinned, pulling the door shut and moving into the room off the main living area to do her morning checks. The sound of the door clicking shut roused Alice from her slumber, and she stretched before remembering where she was. Smiling down at the still-sleeping Emma, she gently extracted herself from the bed before moving to join Claire, taking a deep breath when the smell of coffee hit her nose. Picking up the cup sitting on the kitchen table, Alice made her way into the monitoring room and stood next to her lover.

"Morning red."

"Morning yourself, _mom_."

"Oh shush."

Grinning when the redhead leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek, the older woman took a sip of the coffee, closing her eyes as it warmed her from the inside out.

"Emma's certainly taken a liking to you, hm?"

"Apparently. She...asked me if I was going to keep everyone safe."

"And what did you say, superwoman?"

"That I'd do my best to make sure we didn't lose anyone else."

"See? I told you we needed you."

"Claire, I...still don't know if I fully trust myself, and I need you to promise me something…"

Setting her coffee on the desk, next to the keyboard attached to the computer network, the redhead turned and put a hand on the back of her lover's neck, drawing her into a gentle kiss. Alice sat her cup down as well, hands immediately moving to rest on the younger woman's waist, pulling her close as she returned the kiss, her words forgotten for the moment.

"Don't ask me to do what I know you're going to, Alice. I can't make that promise, and you know it."

"If I lose myself, who else can I count on?"

Shaking her head, Claire rested her forehead against the other woman's shoulder, taking a deep breath, refusing to think about the posibility. Letting out a quiet sigh, the brunette turned her head towards the front door when she heard knocking, gently pushing her lover back.

"I'll see who that is, you keep doing your leader thing."

Rolling her eyes, the redhead picked up her coffee again and turned back to the screens, going about checking their food stores and perimiter cameras while Alice moved to open the door, her own cup back in hand. Standing on the other side, was K-Mart, Chris and Jill, all wearing smiles as they hugged the ex-project once she let them inside. It wasn't long before the six of them, as Emma had woken up when Chris had knocked, were seated at the large table in the dining room having breakfast. Alice declined eating, saying that because of the viruses inside her, she didn't really have an appetite. After they finished, the four adults moved off into the monitoring room while K-Mart and Emma left the house to go on a walk. Claire put a large map onto the table and leaned over it with a sigh.

"We're going to have to go on a major supply run soon. Our food stores are starting to run kinda low."

"Yeah so is what we're able to find in the city. We've been picking that place clean for months, and there's really no wildlife around here to hunt."

"Fuck...what are we going to do?"

"We might have to move…"

"Chris, we promised these people a permanent home…"

"If there's no food, what other choice do we have?"

Alice leaned forward, casting her eyes over the map that her lover had on the table, tuning out the chatter of the others as she concentrated on the landmarks. Tracing a finger along the road that led away from New Hope and away from California, her eyes narrowed as she tried to remember locations of Umbrella safe houses she'd seen in the Ontario base. Not seeming to notice, the other three continued to try and come up with solutions for the lack of food and wildlife. Alice's finger stopped as it crossed over Arizona, and she smirked.

"I think I have a temporary solution."

All eyes turned to the ex-project, and then down to the map she was touching, finger right over the town of Pheonix.

"Alice?"

"Umbrella has a warehouse here in Pheonix...I remember seeing it marked on a map when I was wandering around the Ontario facility."

"Don't you think Umbrella would have cleaned it out by now?"

"I don't think so. It was still active when I left Canada, and I'm assuming that means there's still food and water inside."

Moving around to stand next to her lover, Claire looked down at the map and then met the older woman's eyes.

"You're sure there's a warehouse?"

"Positive."

Blowing out a breath, the redhead nodded and looked down at the map again, shaking her head a bit with a light chuckle. After a few moments, she stood upright and everyone left the house once she and Alice changed. Claire excused herself to go do her morning rounds and take care of her duties, while the brunette went to find Wesker. The blonde man was standing at one of the guard posts, watching the road with vigilant yellow eyes.

"See anything interesting, blondie?"

"Nothing but tumbleweeds, freak."

Snorting at the easy banter the two of them had settled into the short time Alice had been at the settlement, she leaned against the wall in front of her. Wesker peered over at her out of the corner of his eye, watching her facial expressions carefully. Sensing his eyes on her, the ex-project stood up straight again and turned to face the man fully, lifting an eyebrow and crossing her arms.

"What?"

"You look like you're up to something."

"I am indeed up to something."

Wesker turned his head and lifted an eyebrow in return, waiting for her to elaborate on the vague statement. Taking a breath, she turned to look out at the road again, leaning on the wall once more.

"There's an umbrella food storage warehouse in Pheonix, Arizona. We're running low on supplies, and I'm going to take some people to raid it."

"How do you know about that warehouse?"

"When I was wandering around in Ontario after the shit that happened up there, I found a map with all these locations marked on it."

Grunting, Wesker turned his attention to the road as well, his eyes scanning the horizon, watching for any threats to the small settlement. The two of them continued to talk, as Claire and Chris talked to a small group that had volunteered to help with the raid when the redhead told everyone the plan. Jill had grumbled about not being able to join them, but eventually gave up and moved to help some of the other people with light work. It wasn't long before Claire made her way to the guard post and crossed her arms, looking up at the pair of ex-chairman and ex-project.

"Hey, superwoman!"

Turning around, Alice looked down at her younger lover and lifted an eyebrow before hopping down to stand in front of her.

"What's up, red?"

"We kinda briefed a small group, they just need you to finalize everything and give them some more info."

Nodding, she followed the other woman back to the small group inside their storage building, and leaned on the table. It wasn't long before everyone was fully informed and ready to head out the next morning.

"I'll be leading the group myself. Claire and Chris will stay here to keep the settlement safe."

Seeing Claire turn to her and stare out of the corner of her eye, Alice didn't react until everyone was gone from the building. Straightening up from her spot leaning over the table, the brunette turned to face her, and before she could launch into a rant, placed a finger over her lips.

"Don't, Claire. These people need you and your brother to be here. Jill won't be of much help to anyone in her current state."

Huffing at finding herself silenced, the redhead crossed her arms after pushing Alice's hand away from her face. The pair met in a stare-down that lasted a few minutes before Claire sighed and shook her head, seeming to relent. Smiling, the older woman slipped her arms around her lover's waist and tugged her closer, getting a grunt from the ex-convoy leader.

"Would it make you feel better if I take blondie with me?"

"It would make me feel better if you took ME with you...but I guess he's better than no one."

Unable to keep up her pout, a gentle sigh escaped Claire when the other woman pressed their lips together in a brief kiss. Leaving the building, the two separated and moved to tend to different duties within the settlement, something within the redhead telling her that the warehouse was going to be a bad idea.


	10. Human

That night, Claire and Alice spent the majority of their time wrapped in each other's arms, knowing that it would be a while before the brunette would be back at the settlement with her team.

"I really wish you would let me come, Alice…"

Blowing out a breath, the older woman pressed her lips to Claire's forehead and closed her eyes.

"Wesker agreed to tag along, red. Everything is gonna work out fine. You know the settlement needs you and Chris here."

Shifting her position a bit, Claire propped herself up on one elbow, gazing down into her lover's eyes, her other arm wrapping itself around her waist.

"You BETTER come back alive, superwoman."

With that, the younger of the two leaned down and pressed her lips to Alice's in a gentle kiss before she settled down again, resting her head on the other woman's shoulder. When the sun came up the next morning, the two women were busy getting everything situated, making sure the vehicles had gas, and enough room to bring back the supplies. In a little over an hour, the small recovery team was inside the cars, waiting for Alice to lead them to Pheonix Arizona. Claire stood with her beside the drivers side door of the large army transport truck, arms around the brunette's waist.

"Don't worry, red, we'll be back before you know it."

"Just be sure you COME back, okay?"

"You know I will."

The two met in a quick kiss before Alice turned and climbed into the large truck, started the engine and pulled out of the settlement, the small group following behind her. Claire watched them leave, and as the doors were pulled shut, she forced back the nagging feeling in the back of her mind telling her that something horrible was going to happen while the others were gone. As the gate was secured, the woman turned and walked off, heading to help the rest of the people with other tasks. Time seemed to crawl with her lover gone, and it was a few days before the feeling in her gut came to fruition. Under the cover of darkness one night, a large vehicle broke through the gates of New Hope, and about a dozen Umbrella soldiers flooded the settlement. Everyone was secured in the school gymnasium, under armed guard, except for Claire, the redhead being held hostage in her own home by the same woman that had confronted them in the Canadian facility.

"Where's your bitch?"

"Fuck you!"

Claire grunted when the weight of a shotgun pressed against the back of her head, yet she kept a defiant glare on her face as the woman knelt down in front of her.

"No matter...when she gets back...she's going to die."

"Alice is stronger than you think she is."

"So am I."

With a nod from his boss, the soldier behind Claire pulled her to her feet and drug her off, knocking her unconcious with a blow to the base of her skull. Settling herself in the living area, the blonde Umbrella operative smirked when she heard her men entering the redhead's bedroom. It was a few more days until the re-supply team returned, a few members short as the group had run into some rather strong undead inside the warehouse, and when Alice saw the gates broken, her eyes narrowed.

"What the fuck…"

Almost as soon as the cars were off, and the people inside got out, they were surrounded by the Umbrella forces that had taken over the settlement. Before she could act, Alice found the barrel of a shotgun in her face, the man's finger covering the trigger, ready to shoot before she could even think of using her powers.

"Welcome back, Project Alice."

Turning her head, the brunette met the eyes of the blonde Umbrella operative from Canada, a glare on her face.

"What have you done with everyone."

"Don't worry, they're alive...for now. I must say, your lover has been wonderful company for my men."

A surge of anger shot through the older woman, but before she could lurch forward, a bound Claire Redfield was thrown at her feet. Immediately dropping down next to her, she grabbed the rope holding the other woman and easily snapped it loose, freeing the younger woman. Taking in the extent of the brusing and cuts on her lover's skin caused the virus inside her to flare, threatening to take over completely.

"You and I are alike, Project Alice. We both managed to bond with a virus that would have otherwise killed us. You have a choice to make. One, you join us and leave this ridiculous settlement. Two, you refuse and everyone here dies, including you and your little lover. Three, you fight me, no guns, hand to hand, and if you manage to kill me, my men will leave you alone."

Ignoring the woman for the time being, Alice gathered Claire into her arms and held her, the two conversing softly. When the redhead told the older woman what had happened to her during the time she'd been gone, the brunette's anger flared up all over again and she stood, helping Claire to her feet.

"Four. I kill every last fucking one of you, and wipe your disgusting excuse for an organization off the map for good."

With those words, and once Claire was safely seated in one of the vehicles, Alice surged forward only to have the butt of a shotgun meet her chest. The blow barely phased her, and she grabbed hold of the gun and wrenched it out of the soldier's hand before turning it, shoving the barrel into his mouth and pulling the trigger without a second thought. The moment the gun went off, the blonde woman moved forward, a syringe filled with jet black liquid in her outstretched hand. Turning, Alice caught her by the wrist just as the needle touched the skin of her neck.

"Hand to hand, huh? Let's see you fight with one."

With that, the brunette squeezed, the crack of breaking bone easily heard throughout the settlement as the needle fell to the ground, Wesker moving forward and scooping it up before stepping back again. Growling in pain, the other woman moved back, popping and cracking heard as her wrist re-aligned itself and healed.

"What the…"

Before she could voice more of her thought, a hand fisted in Alice's shirt and lifted her from the ground, throwing her across the settlement to collide with one of the metal walls. The brunette gave a grunt of pain when she hit the solid metal, and hit the ground a few seconds later, shaking her head. Dodging out of the way when she saw a booted foot coming towards her face, she stood and snapped the neck of the soldier who'd approached her. Growling, the woman turned to face the blonde again, feeling the virus practically begging to flood her body and take over.

"Show me the monster you really are, Project Alice!"

"You wanna see a monster...fine...I'll show you a fucking monster, you Umbrella bitch!"

Closing her eyes, the brunette releasing all holds she had over the B Virus and T Virus in her body, feeling power flood her system all at once. When she opened them again, a surge of telekenetic force shot forward, striking the blonde umbrella operative and sending her flying backwards into the side of one of the corporation vehicles, leaving a human sized dent in the door. Shaking her head, the woman stumbled to her feet, only to find Alice standing right in front of her. Her eyes widened and before she could move, the ex-project had a hand around her throat, slowly tightening and cutting off her air supply. The sound of a gunshot was heard, and Alice jolted forward a bit as the bullet struck her in the middle of the back.

"ALICE!"

Turning her head, the woman regarded the soldier with a glare from glowing blue eyes, and in an instant, had thrown the blonde across the settlement, and moved to stand in front of the man who'd shot her. With one harsh look, he dropped to the ground, motionless as Alice used her power to make his heart literally explode in his chest. Turning her attention to the woman again, the brunette grunted when she saw her trying to get up from the ground, coughing and holding her neck.

"Fuck...I didn't realize she'd gotten this strong…."

"You wanted to see a monster, didn't you?"

Letting out a yelp of pain as she was hauled to her feet by a hand fisted in her hair, the Umbrella operative cast a look to Wesker, who still had the syringe in his hand.

"That syringe will make the viruses dormant! Save me, and you'll never hear from us again! Albert please!"

Grunting, the ex chairman walked over, seeing that Alice was holding back on killing the woman, and stood face to face with her.

"I'm content to let her send you to hell, Selina."

"You ungreatful bastard!"

Smirking, he stepped away, crossing his arms as he watched Alice grip the woman's neck in her hands again, squeezing tightly. It wasn't long until a sickening crack was heard, and the operative went limp in the brunette's grip, her neck broken and wind pipe crushed. Hearing the rushing of feet, Alice turned, dozens of small rocks lifting into the air before they were propelled forward with the force of a bullet, striking the retreating Umbrella soldiers in the back of the neck, dropping them instantly. Pulling her pistol from its place at her thigh, the woman turned and stalked into the school, easily dropping the few remaining soldiers with a bullet to the skull, as the residents of the settlement flooded out of the building. The sharp stab of a needle in her neck caused Alice to stumble, and when she looked over, the sight of the black serum vanishing into her veins, administered by Wesker, caused her to glare a bit before collapsing to the dirt.

The strain of her power so suddenly leaving her control, and retreating back into her bloodstream as the viruses were forcefully subdued, caused a gasp of pain to escape her as she felt her heart strain. Claire gathering her into her arms was the last thing she felt before hear heart-rate slowed to a crawl, so slow that it was un-detectable to the woman holding her. Alice found herself floating in silence, vision filled with nothing but empty blackness as she felt herself start to fade out of the living world, before a sudden voice filled her ears.

"Mommy...you can't leave yet."

"Becky?"

"You can't leave them yet...they still need you."

"I...I'm so sorry...I couldn't save you…"

"You have a new family now...and you can protect them!"

With that, the blackness began to fade as the brunette felt her heart start beating again, and a soft gasp escaped her lips. As her mind slowly reasserted itself, she heard the sound of Claire screaming at Wesker through sobs, screaming that he'd killed her. Blue eyes slowly slid open, and her vision focused itself on the redhead punching the man repeatedly in the chest.

"Claire…"

The sound of her voice stopped the younger woman in her tracks, and watery green eyes turned to her, meeting vivid blue.

"Alice...you...you're alive…"

Before she could speak again, the brunette found herself locked in a passionate kiss by her younger lover, the redhead holding her close.

"You gotta stop scaring me like this, superwoman."

"Sorry red…"

A grin curled their lips as Claire helped her lover to her feet, supporting her as she gained her bearings. The viruses within her fully dormant, the woman felt more human than she ever had. Umbrella was finally gone, the last of their operatives wiped from the face of the earth. Over the next few years, the undead slowly stopped coming, and eventually, the settlement relocated to Alaska, where they were able to live without walls surrounding them. Wildlife began to flourish, and the survivors began to repopulate, Chris and Jill having a healthy son shortly after they re-settled. It was on one morning, sitting outside on the porch around the home they'd built with a cup of coffee in her hands, that Alice was able to finally relax. A smile curled her lips as she felt a pair of arms slip around her shoulders from behind, and a kiss was pressed to the back of her neck.

"Emma will be waking up soon. Don't forget, you promised to show her how to properly fish for food today."

"I know. Just...enjoying the peace."

"We only have that thanks to you, Alice."

"Guess being a freak of nature has its good points, huh red?"

The pair shared a good natured laugh at the brunette's expense before they met in a brief, yet passionate kiss.

"I love you, freak. Come on, let's go get her up and get on with our day."

Nodding, Alice watched as Claire slipped back into the house to retrieve the girl they'd adopted after her family had been killed. Settling back in the chair for a moment, she closed her eyes as the cool sea air hit her face, and smiled as the peace and quiet was disturbed by the sounds of children waking up and going to play in the snow that had fallen the night before. Hearing the sounds of her lover and their adopted daughter calling for her from the yard, Alice got up and joined them out front, the three engaging in a snowball fight that quickly had all the children of the settlement joining in. As she was assaulted by cold, wet snowballs, the brunette let out a few tears of happiness at finally being the one thing she'd never been: completely, and utterly human.

 **AN: AND ITS OVER! I apologize for this being so short, but I was running out of steam with it. I hope you all enjoyed it though!**


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